GHSA-vm8q-m57g-pff3 is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.3) CWE-1333 vulnerability in django. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-vm8q-m57g-pff3 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Regular expression denial-of-service in Django
Real-World Exposure
django🐍django🐍djangoReal-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
In Django 3.2 before 3.2.25, 4.2 before 4.2.11, and 5.0 before 5.0.3, the django.utils.text.Truncator.words() method (with html=True) and the truncatewords_html template filter are subject to a potential regular expression denial-of-service attack via a crafted string. NOTE: this issue exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2019-14232 and CVE-2023-43665.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | django | ≥ 3.2&&< 3.2.25 | 3.2.25 |
| 🐍PyPI | django | ≥ 4.2&&< 4.2.11 | 4.2.11 |
| 🐍PyPI | django | ≥ 5.0&&< 5.0.3 | 5.0.3 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for django. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update django to 3.2.25 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-vm8q-m57g-pff3 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether GHSA-vm8q-m57g-pff3 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to GHSA-vm8q-m57g-pff3. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-vm8q-m57g-pff3 in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-vm8q-m57g-pff3 across PyPI dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.