CVE-2015-3982: Django Django Allows User Sessions Hijacking Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-6wgp-fwfm-mxp3
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-384
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2015-3982 is a MODERATE (CVSS 7.5) django allows user sessions hijacking vulnerability (CWE-384: Session Fixation) affecting Django libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves django allows user sessions hijacking via an empty string in the session key. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.8.2.

CVE-2015-3982 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2015-3982
GHSA Identifier GHSA-6wgp-fwfm-mxp3
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-384: Session Fixation
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-2015-3982

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: 1.8.2 
pip install Django>=1.8.2
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-2015-3982, 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 1.8.2), 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-384: Session Fixation, where authenticating a user, or otherwise establishing a new user session, without invalidating any existing session identifier gives an attacker the opportunity to steal authenticated sessions. 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 session.flush function in the cached_db backend in Django 1.8.x before 1.8.2 does not properly flush the session, which allows remote attackers to hijack user sessions via an empty string in the session key.

CVE-2015-3982 Affected Django Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.8.2
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
Django
pypi/Django
PyPI
≥ 1.8a1
< 1.8.2
1.8.2

References

NVD — CVE-2015-3982 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-3982
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/django/django/commit/31cb25adecba930bdeee4556709f5a1c42d88fd6
Django Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/django/django
Django Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/django/PYSEC-2015-19.yaml
Django Security Information SECURITY
https://web.archive.org/web/20200228092138/http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/74960
Django Release RELEASE
https://www.djangoproject.com/weblog/2015/may/20/security-release

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2015-3982?
CVE-2015-3982 is a security vulnerability in Django involving Django allows user sessions hijacking via an empty string in the session key under CWE-384: Session Fixation.
Which Django versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.8.2 across affected packages: Django.
What version fixes CVE-2015-3982?
Upgrading to 1.8.2 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is Django affected?
Yes, Django is affected in releases prior to 1.8.2. Upgrade your dependency to 1.8.2 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2015-3982?
CVE-2015-3982 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:H/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2015-3982?
CVE-2015-3982 is classified under CWE-384: Session Fixation (Authenticating a user, or otherwise establishing a new user session, without invalidating any existing session identifier gives an attacker the opportunity to steal authenticated sessions.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2015-3982?
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-6wgp-fwfm-mxp3",
  "modified" : "2024-09-17T15:10:52Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-17T03:29:56Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2015-3982" ],
  "summary" : "Django allows user sessions hijacking via an empty string in the session key",
  "details" : "The session.flush function in the cached_db backend in Django 1.8.x before 1.8.2 does not properly flush the session, which allows remote attackers to hijack user sessions via an empty string in the session key.",
  "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/E:U"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "Django"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "1.8a1"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.8.2"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-3982"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/django/django/commit/31cb25adecba930bdeee4556709f5a1c42d88fd6"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/django/django"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/django/PYSEC-2015-19.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20200228092138/http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/74960"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.djangoproject.com/weblog/2015/may/20/security-release"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-384" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2024-04-29T16:20:47Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2015-06-02T14:59:00Z"
  }
}