How severe is CVE-2021-35042?

CVE-2021-35042 has a CVSS score of 9.8/10, rated CRITICAL. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2021-35042?

CVE-2021-35042 affects the following packages: django (PyPI), django (PyPI). Ecosystems affected: PyPI.

How do I fix CVE-2021-35042?

Update django to version 3.2.5 or later. Run your dependency manager's update command and verify no transitive dependencies pin the vulnerable version. Use O3 Security's SCA scanner to confirm the fix is applied across your entire dependency tree.

Is CVE-2021-35042 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 5 known exploit references for CVE-2021-35042, including 3 in-the-wild exploitations observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2021-35042?

CVE-2021-35042 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 90.9%, placing it in the 100th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A score above 50% indicates significantly elevated exploitation risk — immediate patching is strongly recommended.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2021-35042?

CVE-2021-35042 is classified as SQL Injection (CWE-89). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation. This is a high-impact weakness class that often enables remote code execution or data exposure.

When was CVE-2021-35042 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2021-35042 was published on July 2, 2021 and was last updated on April 16, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

🐍 PyPI

CVE-2021-35042

CRITICAL

SQL Injection in Django

Also known asBIT-django-2021-35042GHSA-xpfp-f569-q3p2PYSEC-2021-109

Published

Jul 2, 2021

Updated

Apr 16, 2026

Affected

2 pkgs

Patched

2 / 2

Exploits

5 known

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

90.9%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Very High Risk100th percentile0.00%

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.

Blast Radius

2 pkgs affected

🐍django🐍django

Real-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects PyPI packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.

Description

Django 3.1.x before 3.1.13 and 3.2.x before 3.2.5 allows QuerySet.order_by SQL injection if order_by is untrusted input from a client of a web application.

Affected Packages

2 total 2 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
🐍PyPI	`django`	≥ 3.2a1&&< 3.2.5	3.2.5
🐍PyPI	`django`	≥ 3.0a1&&< 3.1.13	3.1.13

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

Django 3.1.x before 3.1.13 and 3.2.x before 3.2.5 allows QuerySet.order_…

github.comGithubJul 2021

Django 3.1.x before 3.1.13 and 3.2.x before 3.2.5 allows QuerySet.order_…

github.comGithubSep 2021

Django 3.1.x before 3.1.13 and 3.2.x before 3.2.5 allows QuerySet.order_…

github.comGithubApr 2022

Frequently Asked Questions

Django 3.1.x before 3.1.13 and 3.2.x before 3.2.5 allows QuerySet.order_by SQL injection if order_by is untrusted input from a client of a web application.

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2021-35042 in your stack?

O3 detects CVE-2021-35042 across PyPI dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

Scan my stack How O3 SCA works