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DjangoFramework / library · Djangoproject

CVE-2016-9013

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-12-09
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Django 1.8.x before 1.8.16, 1.9.x before 1.9.11, and 1.10.x before 1.10.3 use a hardcoded password for a temporary database user created when running tests with an Oracle database, which makes it easier for remote attackers to obtain access to the database server by leveraging failure to manually specify a password in the database settings TEST dictionary.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Django 1.8.x before 1.8.16, 1.9.x before 1.9.11, and 1.10.x before 1.10.3 use a hardcoded password when creating temporary database users for Oracle test databases, allowing remote attackers to potentially gain unauthorized database access.

MitigationManually specify a strong, unique password in the database settings TEST dictionary (TEST={'PASSWORD': '<unique_password>'}) when running Django tests with Oracle databases.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
DjangoFramework / library
Affected:= 1.10= 1.10.1= 1.10.2= 1.9= 1.9.1= 1.9.2= 1.9.3= 1.9.4= 1.9.5= 1.9.6= 1.9.7= 1.9.8
Ubuntu LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 12.04= 14.04= 16.04= 16.10
FedoraOperating system
Affected:= 24= 25

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check installed Django version
    Run 'django-admin --version' or import django; print(django.get_version())
    Affected if version is 1.10.0 through 1.10.2, or 1.9.0 through 1.9.10, or 1.8.0 through 1.8.15
  2. Identify database backend configuration
    Inspect settings.DATABASES, specifically the 'ENGINE' key for each database entry
    Affected if any database entry uses 'django.db.backends.oracle' as the ENGINE
  3. Check for Oracle test database usage
    Look for TEST configuration in DATABASES settings, or determine if tests are run using 'python manage.py test' or 'pytest' with an Oracle backend
    Affected if tests are executed against an Oracle database, or TEST settings dictionary is defined with Oracle as the backend
  4. Verify if hardcoded password is in use
    Examine the Oracle database creation code in Django's test runner or check if TEST dictionary lacks a custom PASSWORD field
    Affected if TEST settings exist for Oracle but do not contain a unique 'PASSWORD' key, leaving the default hardcoded password in use

You are affected if Django version is 1.8.x before 1.8.16, 1.9.x before 1.9.11, or 1.10.x before 1.10.3 AND you run tests against an Oracle database without specifying a custom password in TEST settings.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Manually specify a strong, unique password in the database settings TEST dictionary (TEST={'PASSWORD': '<unique_password>'}) when running Django tests with Oracle databases.

Recommended fix High confidence

Django 1.10.3+ (or 1.9.11+ or 1.8.16+ depending on your branch)

  1. Upgrade Django to version 1.10.3 or later for the 1.10.x line
  2. Alternatively, upgrade to Django 1.9.11 or later for the 1.9.x line
  3. Alternatively, upgrade to Django 1.8.16 or later for the 1.8.x line
  4. After upgrading, verify that test runs with Oracle database do not use the hardcoded credential
  5. Run: pip install --upgrade Django>=1.10.3 (or appropriate version for your branch)
Caveat Minor point release upgrade; should not introduce breaking changes, but review release notes for your version line

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Django Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $860
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-9013 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data