CVE-2020-7471: Django SQL Injection Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-hmr4-m2h5-33qx
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CVSS 9.8
CWE-89
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2020-7471 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) sql injection vulnerability (CWE-89: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')) affecting Django libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves sql injection in django. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.11.28, 2.2.10, 3.0.3.

CVE-2020-7471 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2020-7471
GHSA Identifier GHSA-hmr4-m2h5-33qx
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-89: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')
Affected Product Django
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 9.8

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:H/I:H/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 High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2020-7471

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: 1.11.28 
pip install Django>=1.11.28
Django fixed: 2.2.10 
pip install Django>=2.2.10
Django fixed: 3.0.3 
pip install Django>=3.0.3
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-2020-7471, 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 1.11.28), 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-89: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection'), where the product constructs all or part of an sql command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended sql command when it is sent to a downstream component. without sufficient removal or quoting of sql syntax in user-controllable inputs, the generated sql query can cause those inputs to be interpreted as sql instead of ordinary user data. 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

Django 1.11 before 1.11.28, 2.2 before 2.2.10, and 3.0 before 3.0.3 allows SQL Injection if untrusted data is used as a StringAgg delimiter (e.g., in Django applications that offer downloads of data as a series of rows with a user-specified column delimiter). By passing a suitably crafted delimiter to a contrib.postgres.aggregates.StringAgg instance, it was possible to break escaping and inject malicious SQL.

CVE-2020-7471 Affected Django Versions

3 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.11.282.2.103.0.3
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
Django
pypi/Django
PyPI
< 1.11.28
1.11.28
Django
pypi/Django
PyPI
≥ 2.0
< 2.2.10
2.2.10
Django
pypi/Django
PyPI
≥ 3.0
< 3.0.3
3.0.3

References

NVD — CVE-2020-7471 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-7471
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/django/django/commit/001b0634cd309e372edb6d7d95d083d02b8e37bd
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/django/django/commit/505826b469b16ab36693360da9e11fd13213421b
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/django/django/commit/c67a368c16e4680b324b4f385398d638db4d8147
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/django/django/commit/eb31d845323618d688ad429479c6dda973056136
Django Security Information SECURITY
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/02/03/1
Django Release RELEASE
https://www.djangoproject.com/weblog/2020/feb/03/security-releases
Django Security Information SECURITY
https://www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4629
usn.ubuntu.com/4264-1 WEB
https://usn.ubuntu.com/4264-1
Django Security Information SECURITY
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20200221-0006
Django Security Information SECURITY
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202004-17
seclists.org/bugtraq/2020/feb/30 WEB
https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2020/Feb/30
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/4A2AP4T7RKPBCLTI2NNQG3T6MINDUUMZ
groups.google.com/forum/ WEB
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/django-announce/X45S86X5bZI
Django Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/django/PYSEC-2020-35.yaml
Django Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/django/django
GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-hmr4-m2h5-33qx
Django Release RELEASE
https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/3.0/releases/security
Django Security Information SECURITY
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/02/03/1

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-7471?
CVE-2020-7471 is a security vulnerability in Django involving SQL injection in Django under CWE-89: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection').
Which Django versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.11.28, 2.2.10, 3.0.3 across affected packages: Django.
What version fixes CVE-2020-7471?
Upgrading to 1.11.28, 2.2.10, 3.0.3 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is Django affected?
Yes, Django is affected in releases prior to 1.11.28, 2.2.10, 3.0.3. Upgrade your dependency to 1.11.28, 2.2.10, 3.0.3 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-7471?
CVE-2020-7471 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2020-7471?
CVE-2020-7471 is classified under CWE-89: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection') (The product constructs all or part of an SQL command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended SQL command when it is sent to a downstream component. Without sufficient removal or quoting of SQL syntax in user-controllable inputs, the generated SQL query can cause those inputs to be interpreted as SQL instead of ordinary user data.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2020-7471?
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 
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  "id" : "GHSA-hmr4-m2h5-33qx",
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  "severity" : [ {
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    "type" : "WEB",
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    "url" : "https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2020/Feb/30"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/4A2AP4T7RKPBCLTI2NNQG3T6MINDUUMZ"
  }, {
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  "database_specific" : {
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}