django CMS: Plugin move endpoint allows cyclic reparenting (DoS)

Exploitation

No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.

CVSS

7.1 · CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H

EPSS

• CVE-2026-54623: 0.49% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 41.99 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Summary The moveplugin 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 moveplugin (in cms/admin/placeholderadmin.py) accepts a pluginparent 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 parentid graph contains a cycle. Descendant and ancestor traversal is implemented with WITH RECURSIVE CTEs (getdescendantscte / getancestorscte 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). getdescendants() is invoked while building the move response and on subsequent operations on the affected subtree.…

Published by the source

24 Aug 2026, 20:09 UTC

Last modified by the source

24 Aug 2026, 20:09 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 13:50 UTC

1. Revision 1 · created · 26 Oct 2026

   Published from ghsa record GHSA-8jj7-4v57-frf5

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2026-54623

Advisory: django CMS: Plugin move endpoint allows cyclic reparenting (DoS)
IDs: CVE-2026-54623, GHSA-8jj7-4v57-frf5
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2026-54623 (revision 1, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 13:50 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: High (CVSS 7.1)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: django-cms 5.0.8. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- PyPI django-cms: affected < 5.0.8; fixed in 5.0.8

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- `python -m pip show django-cms`: prints the installed version. Run with the environment that serves production active.

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on django-cms.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-8jj7-4v57-frf5 (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-8jj7-4v57-frf5 lists affected ranges: PyPI django-cms >=0 <5.0.8)

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