Denial of Service in Wagtail CMS via Rendition Processing

Executive Summary

This vulnerability exists in Wagtail, an open source content management system built on Django. In versions prior to 7.0.8, 7.3.3, and 7.4.2, an authenticated admin user can trigger expensive rendition processing by using purposefully crafted filter specifications. This can lead to potential service degradation.

It is important to note that this vulnerability cannot be exploited by ordinary site visitors without access to the Wagtail admin interface.

Useful 0 Not Useful 0

Impact Analysis

The vulnerability can cause service degradation by allowing an authenticated admin user to trigger resource-intensive rendition processing. This may slow down or disrupt the normal operation of the Wagtail content management system.

Useful 0 Not Useful 0

Mitigation Strategies

To mitigate this vulnerability, upgrade Wagtail to one of the fixed versions: 7.0.8, 7.3.3, or 7.4.2.

Since the vulnerability requires authenticated admin access, restrict admin user access and monitor for unusual rendition processing activity to reduce risk until the upgrade is applied.

Useful 0 Not Useful 0

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability allows an authenticated admin user to trigger expensive rendition processing that may lead to service degradation. However, it does not involve unauthorized access to sensitive data or compromise confidentiality or integrity.

Since the vulnerability does not expose personal data or affect data integrity, it is unlikely to directly impact compliance with standards such as GDPR or HIPAA, which focus on protecting personal and health information.

Nevertheless, service degradation could affect availability, which is a component of these regulations, but only if it results in significant downtime or denial of service impacting users' access to protected data.

Useful 0 Not Useful 0