Django REST framework: Potential bypass of Django DATA_UPLOAD_MAX_MEMORY_SIZE when parsing oversized JSON and urlencoded request bodies via DRF request.data

Exploitation

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

CVSS

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

EPSS

• CVE-2026-73228: 0.56% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 46.49 (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 While investigating Django REST Framework's request parsing behavior, I identified that DRF's high-level request.data parsing appears to bypass Django's configured DATAUPLOADMAXMEMORYSIZE protection for application/json and application/x-www-form-urlencoded request bodies. In the tested configurations, Django correctly raises RequestDataTooBig when applications access request.body or Django's native request.POST, but DRF successfully parses the same oversized payloads through request.data. This behavior appears to occur because DRF passes the underlying HttpRequest object directly to parsers, which consume the request stream through Django's lower-level streaming interface rather than the guarded request.body path. I am reporting this privately because I am unsure whether this behavior is considered part of DRF's intended security boundary, but it appears to bypass a documented Django request-size protection for common DRF request parsing paths and may have availability…

Published by the source

1 Sep 2026, 19:24 UTC

Last modified by the source

1 Sep 2026, 19:24 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 13:51 UTC

1. Revision 1 · created · 26 Oct 2026

   Published from ghsa record GHSA-2m8g-3cmr-wg3w

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2026-73228

Advisory: Django REST framework: Potential bypass of Django `DATA_UPLOAD_MAX_MEMORY_SIZE` when parsing oversized JSON and urlencoded request bodies via DRF `request.data`
IDs: CVE-2026-73228, GHSA-2m8g-3cmr-wg3w
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2026-73228 (revision 1, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 13:51 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: Medium (CVSS 5.3)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: djangorestframework 3.17.2. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- PyPI djangorestframework: affected < 3.17.2; fixed in 3.17.2

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- `python -m pip show djangorestframework`: 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 djangorestframework.
- 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-2m8g-3cmr-wg3w (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-2m8g-3cmr-wg3w lists affected ranges: PyPI djangorestframework >=0 <3.17.2)

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