Denial of Service Vulnerability in Django's ImageField Class
Summary
CVE-2012-3443: The django.forms.ImageField class in the form system in Django before 1.3.2 and 1.4.x before 1.4.1 completely decompresses image data during image validation, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (m... Affects python-django versions < 1.4.1-1. Fixed in 1.4.1-1. How to fix ↓
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Background
Django is a high-level Python web framework that encourages rapid development and clean, pragmatic design. It provides a robust set of features for building web applications, including an extensive forms library that allows developers to handle user input efficiently. The ImageField class is specifically designed to handle image uploads in forms. However, prior to versions 1.3.2 and 1.4.1, this class had a significant vulnerability that could lead to denial of service attacks through excessive memory consumption when processing image uploads.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability, identified as CVE-2012-3443, arises from the ImageField class in Django's form system, which completely decompresses image data during validation. This behavior allows remote attackers to upload specially crafted image files that can consume excessive memory resources, potentially leading to denial of service conditions. The issue affects versions of Django before 1.3.2 and 1.4.x before 1.4.1, making it critical for applications using these versions to be updated to mitigate the risk.
How To Fix
Minimum fixed version
1.4.1-1
This is the first release that contains the fix.
sudo apt-get install --only-upgrade python-djangoTip — Not sure which version your app runs? Vulert can match this fix to it. Scan free →
Workaround
If immediate upgrading is not feasible, a temporary workaround is to implement input validation on the server side to restrict the types and sizes of image files that can be uploaded. This can help mitigate the risk of denial of service attacks until an upgrade can be performed.
Conclusion
CVE-2012-3443 is a critical vulnerability in Django's ImageField class that can lead to denial of service through excessive memory consumption. It is crucial for developers using affected versions to upgrade to at least version 1.4.1 to mitigate this risk. Temporary workarounds can be implemented, but upgrading is the most effective solution.
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FAQ
CVE-2012-3443 is a vulnerability in Django's ImageField class that allows remote attackers to cause denial of service through excessive memory consumption.
Django versions before 1.3.2 and 1.4.x before 1.4.1 are affected by this vulnerability.
You can use Vulert's playground at Vulert Scanner to check if your application is affected by this vulnerability without requiring any signup.
The main consequence is denial of service, where an attacker can upload images that consume excessive memory, potentially crashing the application.
If you cannot upgrade immediately, implement server-side input validation to restrict the types and sizes of image files that can be uploaded.
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