CVE-2015-5964: Django Denial-of-service Possibility Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-x38m-486c-2wr9
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CVSS 7.5
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2015-5964 is a MODERATE (CVSS 7.5) denial-of-service possibility vulnerability (General Security Weakness) affecting Django libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves denial-of-service possibility in logout() view by filling session store. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.7.10, 1.4.22.

CVE-2015-5964 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2015-5964
GHSA Identifier GHSA-x38m-486c-2wr9
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification General Security Weakness
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:N/A:H).

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 None (I:N)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2015-5964

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: 1.7.10 
pip install Django>=1.7.10
Django fixed: 1.4.22 
pip install Django>=1.4.22
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-2015-5964, 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 1.7.10), 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 General Security Weakness. 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 (1) `contrib.sessions.backends.base.SessionBase.flush` and (2) `cache_db.SessionStore.flush` functions in Django 1.7.x before 1.7.10, 1.4.x before 1.4.22, and possibly other versions create empty sessions in certain circumstances, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (session store consumption) via unspecified vectors.

CVE-2015-5964 Affected Django Versions

2 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.7.101.4.22
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
Django
pypi/Django
PyPI
≥ 1.7
< 1.7.10
1.7.10
Django
pypi/Django
PyPI
≥ 1.4
< 1.4.22
1.4.22

References

NVD — CVE-2015-5964 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-5964
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/django/django/commit/2f5485346ee6f84b4e52068c04e043092daf55f7
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/django/django/commit/575f59f9bc7c59a5e41a081d1f5f55fc859c5012
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/django/django/commit/8cc41ce7a7a8f6bebfdd89d5ab276cd0109f4fc5
Django Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/django/django
Django Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/django/PYSEC-2015-23.yaml
Django Security Information SECURITY
https://web.archive.org/web/20150906124157/http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/76440
Django Security Information SECURITY
https://web.archive.org/web/20150923161048/http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1033318
Django Security Information SECURITY
https://web.archive.org/web/20200228051814/http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/76440
Django Release RELEASE
https://www.djangoproject.com/weblog/2015/aug/18/security-releases
lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-a... WEB
http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2015-November/172084.html
rhn.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2015-17... WEB
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-1766.html
rhn.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2015-17... WEB
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-1767.html
rhn.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2015-18... WEB
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-1894.html
Django Security Information SECURITY
http://www.debian.org/security/2015/dsa-3338
Django Security Information SECURITY
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/topics/security/bulletinoct2015-2511968.html
www.ubuntu.com/usn/usn-2720-1 WEB
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-2720-1

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2015-5964?
CVE-2015-5964 is a security vulnerability in Django involving Denial-of-service possibility in logout() view by filling session store under General Security Weakness.
Which Django versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.7.10, 1.4.22 across affected packages: Django.
What version fixes CVE-2015-5964?
Upgrading to 1.7.10, 1.4.22 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is Django affected?
Yes, Django is affected in releases prior to 1.7.10, 1.4.22. Upgrade your dependency to 1.7.10, 1.4.22 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2015-5964?
CVE-2015-5964 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2015-5964?
CVE-2015-5964 is classified under General Security Weakness.
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2015-5964?
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-x38m-486c-2wr9",
  "modified" : "2024-09-18T19:59:52Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-17T03:16:12Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2015-5964" ],
  "summary" : "Denial-of-service possibility in logout() view by filling session store",
  "details" : "The (1) `contrib.sessions.backends.base.SessionBase.flush` and (2) `cache_db.SessionStore.flush` functions in Django 1.7.x before 1.7.10, 1.4.x before 1.4.22, and possibly other versions create empty sessions in certain circumstances, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (session store consumption) via unspecified vectors.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "Django"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
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      }, {
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      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
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    "ranges" : [ {
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      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-5964"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/django/django/commit/2f5485346ee6f84b4e52068c04e043092daf55f7"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/django/django/commit/575f59f9bc7c59a5e41a081d1f5f55fc859c5012"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/django/django/commit/8cc41ce7a7a8f6bebfdd89d5ab276cd0109f4fc5"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/django/django"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/django/PYSEC-2015-23.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20150906124157/http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/76440"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20150923161048/http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1033318"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20200228051814/http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/76440"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.djangoproject.com/weblog/2015/aug/18/security-releases"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2015-November/172084.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-1766.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-1767.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-1894.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.debian.org/security/2015/dsa-3338"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/topics/security/bulletinoct2015-2511968.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-2720-1"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2024-04-29T16:38:00Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2015-08-24T14:59:00Z"
  }
}