Django up to 4.2.27/5.2.10/6.0.1 django.utils.text.Truncator.chars/Truncator.words algorithmic complexity

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Django up to 4.2.27/5.2.10/6.0.1. It has been rated as problematic. The affected element is the function django.utils.text.Truncator.chars/Truncator.words. This manipulation causes algorithmic complexity. This vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2026-1285. The attack is possible to be carried out remotely. No exploit exists. Upgrading the affected component is advised.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Django up to 4.2.27/5.2.10/6.0.1. It has been declared as problematic. Affected by this vulnerability is the function django.utils.text.Truncator.chars/Truncator.words. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a algorithmic complexity vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-407. An algorithm in a product has an inefficient worst-case computational complexity that may be detrimental to system performance and can be triggered by an attacker, typically using crafted manipulations that ensure that the worst case is being reached. As an impact it is known to affect availability. The summary by CVE is:

An issue was discovered in 6.0 before 6.0.2, 5.2 before 5.2.11, and 4.2 before 4.2.28. `django.utils.text.Truncator.chars()` and `Truncator.words()` methods (with `html=True`) and the `truncatechars_html` and `truncatewords_html` template filters allow a remote attacker to cause a potential denial-of-service via crafted inputs containing a large number of unmatched HTML end tags. Earlier, unsupported Django series (such as 5.0.x, 4.1.x, and 3.2.x) were not evaluated and may also be affected. Django would like to thank Seokchan Yoon for reporting this issue.

It is possible to read the advisory at docs.djangoproject.com. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-1285 since 01/21/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be launched remotely. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The attack technique deployed by this issue is T1499 according to MITRE ATT&CK.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 297741 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2026-1285), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 4.2.28, 5.2.11 or 6.0.2 eliminates this vulnerability.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (297741) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2026-0297). Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Affected

• Debian Linux
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Fedora Linux
• SUSE Linux
• SUSE openSUSE
• Open Source Django

Productinfo

Type

• Content Management System

Name

• Django

Version

• 4.2.0
• 4.2.1
• 4.2.2
• 4.2.3
• 4.2.4
• 4.2.5
• 4.2.6
• 4.2.7
• 4.2.8
• 4.2.9
• 4.2.10
• 4.2.11
• 4.2.12
• 4.2.13
• 4.2.14
• 4.2.15
• 4.2.16
• 4.2.17
• 4.2.18
• 4.2.19
• 4.2.20
• 4.2.21
• 4.2.22
• 4.2.23
• 4.2.24
• 4.2.25
• 4.2.26
• 4.2.27
• 5.2.0
• 5.2.1
• 5.2.2
• 5.2.3
• 5.2.4
• 5.2.5
• 5.2.6
• 5.2.7
• 5.2.8
• 5.2.9
• 5.2.10
• 6.0.0
• 6.0.1

License

• open-source

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Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

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