# CVE-2018-16984: Django allows unprivileged users to read the password hashes of arbitrary accounts

> Unprivileged users with view permissions can read arbitrary password hashes via the admin interface, exposing sensitive credentials.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.9 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 2 Oct 2018
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-6mx3-3vqg-hpp2, PYSEC-2018-3

## What is CVE-2018-16984?

CVE-2018-16984 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Djangoproject Django, published on 2 Oct 2018. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An issue was discovered in Django 2.1 before 2.1.2, in which unprivileged users can read the password hashes of arbitrary accounts. The read-only password widget used by the Django Admin to display an obfuscated password hash was bypassed if a user has only the "view" permission (new in Django 2.1), resulting in display of the entire password hash to those users. This may result in a vulnerability for sites with legacy user accounts using insecure hashes.

Weakness: CWE-522 (Insufficiently Protected Credentials)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-16984?

3 open source packages ship an affected version, including django and Django. It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `django` | PyPI | From 2.1 | 2.1.2 |
| `django` | PyPI | From 2.1 | 2.1.2 |
| `Django` | PyPI | From 2.1 | 2.1.2 |

Products: Djangoproject Django.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-16984?

Upgrade django to 2.1.2 or later.

## Is CVE-2018-16984 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-16984 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Djangoproject Django

- [CVE-2026-4277](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-4277/): Privilege abuse in GenericInlineModelAdmin (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2024-53908](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-53908/): Django SQL injection in HasKey(lhs, rhs) on Oracle (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2024-42005](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-42005/): Django SQL injection vulnerability (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2023-31047](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-31047/): Django bypasses validation when using one form field to upload multiple files (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2022-34265](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-34265/): Django `Trunc()` and `Extract()` database functions vulnerable to SQL Injection (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-16984 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-16984 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Djangoproject Django, published on 2 Oct 2018. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-16984 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- django (PyPI): affected from 2.1; fixed in 2.1.2
- django (PyPI): affected from 2.1; fixed in 2.1.2
- Django (PyPI): affected from 2.1; fixed in 2.1.2

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-16984/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-16984/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-16984
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-16984
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-16984

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-16984/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.