GHSA-vgxm-h9gx-h9w7 is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.5) CWE-285 vulnerability in django-cms. A fix is available for django-cms — see the affected versions and patch details below.
django CMS: Structure endpoint bypasses page-view permission
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for GHSA-vgxm-h9gx-h9w7.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
GHSA-vgxm-h9gx-h9w7 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 383,485 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.
Real-World Exposure
django-cmsReal-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
Summary
The structure-board endpoint (render_object_structure) renders a page's plugin structure without verifying that the requesting user is allowed to view the page. The edit and preview endpoints enforce this via render_page(), but the structure endpoint does not, allowing a low-privileged staff user to read the plugin structure of a view-restricted page.
Details
render_object_structure (in cms/views.py) loads the PageContent object and renders cms/toolbar/structure.html directly. Unlike render_object_endpoint (used by edit/preview), which renders through render_pagecontent → render_page and calls user_can_view_page(request.user, page) (returning 404 when the user may not view the page), the structure endpoint performs no page-level authorization.
The rendered structure board includes each plugin's get_short_description() (e.g. link names/URLs, text snippets), so the content of a restricted page is disclosed, not just its shape.
Impact
A staff user (any account with is_staff=True) who lacks view permission on a view-restricted page can retrieve that page's plugin structure and short descriptions by requesting the structure endpoint with the page's content-type id and object id.
This only applies when CMS_PERMISSION=True and the page has view restrictions (or CMS_PUBLIC_FOR='staff'). Sites without per-page view restrictions are not affected.
Patches
Fixed in 5.0.8: the structure endpoint now enforces user_can_view_page() for PageContent objects, matching edit/preview.
Workarounds
None other than restricting staff access. Upgrade is recommended.
Credits
Reported by the security team at the University of Sydney ([@reporter]).
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | django-cms | all versions | 5.0.8pip install --upgrade 'django-cms==5.0.8' |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for django-cms, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update django-cms to 5.0.8 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-vgxm-h9gx-h9w7 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Put an independent control in front of the weakness: restrict the affected endpoint or interface to trusted networks, require an additional authentication factor or proxy-level check, and invalidate existing sessions and credentials in case the flaw has already been used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-vgxm-h9gx-h9w7 in your dependencies?
Find it across PyPI, including transitive dependencies.