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TI-2026-78981 Aliases CVE-2026-114138GHSA-33wh-fxxf-88vv

Django REST framework Accept header parsing causes excessive CPU use

Priority HIGH 72CWE-400Published · Updated

Key facts

Attack vector
Network
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
Low
Impact type
Denial of service
Confidentiality · integrity · availability
None · None · High
Fix status
Partial Red Hat: 1 fixed, 2 without a fix

Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA, GitHub and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-400.

Summary

Django REST framework before 3.18.2 parses attacker-supplied Accept headers without limits during content negotiation. The parsing repeats for each token and renderer, an inefficient algorithm (CWE-407). A remote unauthenticated client can send such headers to consume large amounts of CPU on synchronous workers, making the service unavailable while the requests continue.

Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-04

Description from the CNA

Django REST framework is a toolkit for building Web APIs. Prior to 3.18.2, DefaultContentNegotiation.get_accept_list in rest_framework/negotiation.py accepts an unbounded number and aggregate size of Accept tokens, while select_renderer in that file repeatedly invokes _MediaType parsing from rest_framework/utils/mediatypes.py for each attacker-controlled token, every renderer, and forced 406 renegotiation. A remote unauthenticated client can send many distinct media types containing large quoted parameter values with numerous semicolons, causing Django's parameter parser and DRF's repeated parsing structure to consume disproportionate CPU. Requests to any reachable endpoint can pin synchronous workers for prolonged periods, and concurrent requests can make the service unavailable until the requests stop. This issue is fixed in version 3.18.2.

Why it matters now

Exploitation Proof of concept CISA SSVC · not in CISA KEV
EPSS 0.00595 48th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Partial django-rest-framework (encode): 3.18.2djangorestframework (PyPI): 3.18.2Red Hat: 1 advisoryRed Hat: 1 fixed, 2 without a fix

SSVC decision points

CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3

Exploitation
Poc
Automatable
Yes
Technical impact
Partial

The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.

Affected products

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed inStatusSource
encodedjango-rest-frameworkbefore 3.18.23.18.2Patch availableCNA
—djangorestframework (PyPI)before 3.18.23.18.2Patch availableGHSA-33wh-fxxf-88vv
  • django-rest-framework Vendorencode Affected before 3.18.2 Fixed in 3.18.2 Patch available CNA
  • djangorestframework (PyPI) Vendor— Affected before 3.18.2 Fixed in 3.18.2 Patch available GHSA-33wh-fxxf-88vv

Remediation

Upgrade the encode package django-rest-framework and the PyPI package djangorestframework to 3.18.2, the fixed version. Red Hat fixes this for Red Hat Discovery 2 in RHSA-2026:94802. Red Hat lists Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 and Red Hat Satellite 6 as affected without a fix, with no plan available.

Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-04

  • Fix · CNA django-rest-framework (encode) Fixed in 3.18.2
  • Fix · GHSA-33wh-fxxf-88vv djangorestframework (PyPI) Fixed in 3.18.2 Advisory →

Red Hat 1 advisory

  • RHSA-2026:94802 Released 2026-11-04 · Red Hat rating Critical
    A Subscription Management tool for finding and reporting Red Hat product usage
    • Red Hat Discovery 2 registry.redhat.io/discovery/discovery-server-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/discovery/discovery-ui-rhel9

Vendor assessments

Red Hat

Red Hat rating: Important. Red Hat's page for this CVE →

ProductStatusPlan or fix
Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2AffectedNo fix yet
Red Hat Satellite 6AffectedNo fix yet
Red Hat Discovery 2Fixed RHSA-2026:94802
Not affected: 3 products
  • Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2
  • Red Hat Discovery 2
  • Red Hat Update Infrastructure 4 for Cloud Providers

Timeline

  1. 2026-10-21 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-114138
  2. 2026-10-22 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
  3. 2026-10-22 CVSS score added · Red Hat
  4. 2026-10-22 Alias added: GHSA-33wh-fxxf-88vv
  5. 2026-10-22 Fix available: PyPI/[email protected] · GHSA-33wh-fxxf-88vv
  6. 2026-10-22 CVSS score added · GHSA-33wh-fxxf-88vv
  7. 2026-10-22 Weakness changed · GHSA-33wh-fxxf-88vv
  8. 2026-10-22 5 new references · GHSA-33wh-fxxf-88vv
  9. 2026-10-23 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
  10. 2026-10-23 Priority changed: MEDIUM → LOW
  11. 2026-10-28 CISA SSVC decision points changed
  12. 2026-10-28 Priority changed: LOW → HIGH
  13. 2026-10-30 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
  14. 2026-11-04 Fix available: RHSA-2026:94802 · Red Hat
  15. 2026-11-04 Fix available: Red Hat Discovery 2 · Red Hat

References

Advisory 1

Other 4

  • TI-2026-35991 Starlette has missing Host header validation that poisons request.url.path, bypassing path-based security checks KEVCVSS 3.1MEDIUM 6.5
  • TI-2024-32128 Starlette Denial of service (DoS) via multipart/form-data CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
  • TI-2026-78978 Django REST framework JSONParser accepts attacker-chosen codecs CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
  • TI-2024-16279 python-multipart vulnerable to content-type header Regular expression Denial of Service CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
  • TI-2023-13590 Path traversal in encode Starlette CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
  • TI-2026-51365 Uncontrolled resource consumption in encode django-rest-framework CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 5.3
See all 18 →

Sources

This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences