django CMS: Plugin move endpoint allows cyclic reparenting (DoS)
Summary
The move_plugin admin endpoint does not prevent a plugin from being reparented under itself or one of its own descendants. Doing so creates a cycle in the plugin tree, after which the recursive descendant/ancestor SQL queries loop without terminating, stalling the request worker.
Details
move_plugin (in cms/admin/placeholderadmin.py) accepts a plugin_parent POST parameter and, for an in-placeholder move, sets the plugin's parent to the target without any cycle/ancestor check. If the target parent is a descendant of the moved plugin, the resulting parent_id graph contains a cycle.
Descendant and ancestor traversal is implemented with WITH RECURSIVE CTEs (_get_descendants_cte / _get_ancestors_cte in cms/models/pluginmodel.py) that have no cycle clause or depth limit. On a cyclic tree these recurse indefinitely (PostgreSQL/SQLite) or error at the recursion limit (MySQL). get_descendants() is invoked while building the move response and on subsequent operations on the affected subtree.
Impact
An authenticated staff user with permission to change plugins in at least one placeholder can corrupt that placeholder's plugin tree, causing requests that traverse it (rendering, copy, delete) to hang and consume application workers (denial of service). The tree is also left in a corrupted state.
Requires CMS_PERMISSION/plugin-change permission on a placeholder.
Patches
Fixed in 5.0.8: move_plugin now rejects (HTTP 400) any move that would place a plugin inside itself or one of its descendants, before any tree mutation or traversal.
Workarounds
None. Upgrade is recommended.
Credits
Reported by the security team at the University of Sydney ([@reporter]).
Affected software
Click a technology to see all vulnerabilities affecting it.
| Platform | Package | Vulnerable versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Python (PyPI) | django-cms | < 5.0.8 | 5.0.8 |
References
- https://github.com/django-cms/django-cms/security/advisories/GHSA-8jj7-4v57-frf5
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-54623
- https://github.com/django-cms/django-cms/pull/8645
- https://github.com/django-cms/django-cms/commit/7642a98ab3170793c0b27b4125dd1f3d318b8a1c
- https://github.com/django-cms/django-cms
- https://github.com/django-cms/django-cms/releases/tag/5.0.8
- https://pypi.org/project/django-cms
- https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-8jj7-4v57-frf5
- CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H- Weakness (CWE)
CWE-674, CWE-835- Platform
- Python (PyPI)
- Package
django-cms- Disclosed
- 24.08.2026
- Updated
- 11.10.2026 15:18
Sources and licenses
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - PYSEC-2026-3822 - PyPA Advisory Database; CC BY 4.0
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-8jj7-4v57-frf5 - CC BY 4.0
Vulnerability history: django-cms
All published vulnerabilities of this package (Python (PyPI)), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.
- Total entries
- 10
- First → latest
- 08.2017 08.2026
- Without a fix
- 0
- Exploited in attacks
- 0
Severity breakdown
- High 2
- Medium 8
Disclosures per year
- 2017: 1
- 2018: 0
- 2019: 0
- 2020: 0
- 2021: 0
- 2022: 1
- 2023: 0
- 2024: 1
- 2025: 0
- 2026: 7
-
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