CVE-2011-4140
CSRF protection mechanism vulnerability in django (PyPI)
What is CVE-2011-4140 About?
Django through 1.2.7 and 1.3.x through 1.3.1 has a CSRF protection mechanism vulnerability, allowing remote attackers to trigger unauthenticated forged requests. This occurs because of improper handling of arbitrary HTTP Host headers in web-server configurations. The vulnerability is moderately complex to exploit.
Affected Software
- django
- <1.2.7
- >1.3, <=1.3.1
- <=1.2.7
Technical Details
The CSRF protection mechanism in Django versions through 1.2.7 and 1.3.1 is flawed due to its improper handling of arbitrary HTTP Host headers, particularly in web server configurations that support them. This vulnerability allows an attacker to bypass the CSRF token validation. When a web server is configured to accept various HTTP Host headers, an attacker can craft a request with a manipulated Host header that a vulnerable Django application will process as legitimate. By combining this with a DNS CNAME record pointing to the target site and embedding JavaScript code within a malicious web page, the attacker can then make requests to the Django application that appear to originate from the legitimate domain, thereby circumventing the CSRF protection and triggering unauthenticated forged requests on behalf of a victim browsing the malicious page.
What is the Impact of CVE-2011-4140?
Successful exploitation may allow attackers to perform actions on behalf of authenticated users, leading to unauthorized data modification, sensitive information disclosure, or account compromise.
What is the Exploitability of CVE-2011-4140?
Exploitation of this CSRF bypass vulnerability is of moderate to high complexity, as it requires knowledge of DNS configurations (specifically CNAME records) and the ability to host a malicious webpage containing JavaScript. No authentication is directly required for the attacker to initiate the attack; however, the victim must be authenticated to the vulnerable Django application for the forged request to have an impact. No special privileges are needed. The attack is remote, contingent on the victim visiting a malicious page. A critical prerequisite is the web server's configuration allowing arbitrary HTTP Host headers that Django then processes. Risk factors include lax web server configurations and users browsing untrusted websites.
What are the Known Public Exploits?
| PoC Author | Link | Commentary |
|---|---|---|
| No known exploits | ||
What are the Available Fixes for CVE-2011-4140?
Available Upgrade Options
- django
- <1.2.7 → Upgrade to 1.2.7
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Book a demoAdditional Resources
- https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/django/PYSEC-2011-5.yaml
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=737366
- https://www.djangoproject.com/weblog/2011/sep/10/127
- https://www.djangoproject.com/weblog/2011/sep/10/127/
- http://www.debian.org/security/2011/dsa-2332
- https://github.com/django/django
- https://www.djangoproject.com/weblog/2011/sep/09/
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=737366
- https://hermes.opensuse.org/messages/14700881
- https://hermes.opensuse.org/messages/14700881
What are Similar Vulnerabilities to CVE-2011-4140?
Similar Vulnerabilities: CVE-2017-5636 , CVE-2018-7264 , CVE-2019-15881 , CVE-2020-13768 , CVE-2021-29471
