# CVE-2026-71238: DjangoCRM - Hardcoded Django SECRET_KEY Enables Session and CSRF Token Forgery

> Hardcoded Django SECRET_KEY allows attackers to forge session cookies and CSRF tokens, leading to full account takeover.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 5 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 10 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-qc6p-hvpv-4f8h

## What is CVE-2026-71238?

CVE-2026-71238 is a critical vulnerability in DjangoCRM django-crm, published on 5 Aug 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

DjangoCRM ships with its Django SECRET_KEY hardcoded directly in the committed webcrm/settings.py rather than read from an environment variable. Since this key is used for session signing, CSRF token generation, and password reset tokens, anyone who reads the public repository can forge valid session cookies (including for the superadmin account), forge CSRF tokens, and forge password reset tokens, achieving full account takeover.

Weakness: CWE-798 (Use of Hard-coded Credentials)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-71238?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-71238?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-71238 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-71238 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-71238 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-71238 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-71238 is a critical vulnerability in DjangoCRM django-crm, published on 5 Aug 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-71238 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: DjangoCRM django-crm. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

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-2026-71238/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-71238/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-71238
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-71238
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-71238

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-71238/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.