CVE-2008-3909: Django Django Cross-site Request Forgery (CSRF) Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-r5cj-wv24-92p5
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-352
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2008-3909 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) django cross-site request forgery (csrf) vulnerability (CWE-352: Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)) affecting Django libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves django cross-site request forgery (csrf) vulnerability. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.91.3, 0.95.4, 0.96.3.

CVE-2008-3909 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2008-3909
GHSA Identifier GHSA-r5cj-wv24-92p5
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-352: Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
Affected Product Django
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.5

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality None (C:N)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2008-3909

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Django dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

Django fixed: 0.91.3 
pip install Django>=0.91.3
Django fixed: 0.95.4 
pip install Django>=0.95.4
Django fixed: 0.96.3 
pip install Django>=0.96.3
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

pip show Django

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2008-3909, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show Django

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Django in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.91.3), your application is affected.

Note: The pip show Django command checks currently installed packages in your active Python environment.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-352: Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF), where the web application does not, or cannot, sufficiently verify whether a request was intentionally provided by the user who sent the request, which could have originated from an unauthorized actor. In Django, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

The administration application in Django 0.91.x, 0.95.x, and 0.96.x stores unauthenticated HTTP POST requests and processes them after successful authentication occurs, which allows remote attackers to conduct cross-site request forgery (CSRF) attacks and delete or modify data via unspecified requests.

CVE-2008-3909 Affected Django Versions

3 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.91.30.95.40.96.3
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
Django
pypi/Django
PyPI
≥ 0.91.0
< 0.91.3
0.91.3
Django
pypi/Django
PyPI
≥ 0.95.0
< 0.95.4
0.95.4
Django
pypi/Django
PyPI
≥ 0.96.0
< 0.96.3
0.96.3

References

NVD — CVE-2008-3909 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2008-3909
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/django/django/commit/44debfeaa4473bd28872c735dd3d9afde6886752
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/django/django/commit/7e0972bded362bc4b851c109df2c8a6548481a8e
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/django/django/commit/aee48854a164382c655acb9f18b3c06c3d238e81
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi WEB
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=460966
Django Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/django/django
Django Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/django/PYSEC-2008-2.yaml
www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-pac... WEB
https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-September/msg00091.html
www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-pac... WEB
https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-September/msg00131.html
Django Security Information SECURITY
http://www.debian.org/security/2008/dsa-1640
Django Security Information SECURITY
http://www.djangoproject.com/weblog/2008/sep/02/security
Django Security Information SECURITY
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2008/09/03/4

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2008-3909?
CVE-2008-3909 is a security vulnerability in Django involving Django cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability under CWE-352: Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF).
Which Django versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.91.3, 0.95.4, 0.96.3 across affected packages: Django.
What version fixes CVE-2008-3909?
Upgrading to 0.91.3, 0.95.4, 0.96.3 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is Django affected?
Yes, Django is affected in releases prior to 0.91.3, 0.95.4, 0.96.3. Upgrade your dependency to 0.91.3, 0.95.4, 0.96.3 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2008-3909?
CVE-2008-3909 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2008-3909?
CVE-2008-3909 is classified under CWE-352: Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) (The web application does not, or cannot, sufficiently verify whether a request was intentionally provided by the user who sent the request, which could have originated from an unauthorized actor.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2008-3909?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show Django'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-r5cj-wv24-92p5",
  "modified" : "2024-09-16T22:32:44Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-02T00:05:00Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2008-3909" ],
  "summary" : "Django cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability",
  "details" : "The administration application in Django 0.91.x, 0.95.x, and 0.96.x stores unauthenticated HTTP POST requests and processes them after successful authentication occurs, which allows remote attackers to conduct cross-site request forgery (CSRF) attacks and delete or modify data via unspecified requests.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
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    },
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  }, {
    "package" : {
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    "ranges" : [ {
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  "references" : [ {
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    "url" : "https://github.com/django/django/commit/44debfeaa4473bd28872c735dd3d9afde6886752"
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    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/django/django/commit/7e0972bded362bc4b851c109df2c8a6548481a8e"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/django/django/commit/aee48854a164382c655acb9f18b3c06c3d238e81"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=460966"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/django/django"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/django/PYSEC-2008-2.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-September/msg00091.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-September/msg00131.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.debian.org/security/2008/dsa-1640"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.djangoproject.com/weblog/2008/sep/02/security"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2008/09/03/4"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-352" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-09-22T23:12:22Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2008-09-04T17:41:00Z"
  }
}