Potential Observable Timing Discrepancy in Wagtail
Impact
A potential timing attack exists on pages or documents that have been protected with a shared password through Wagtail's "Privacy" controls. This password check is performed through a character-by-character string comparison, and so an attacker who is able to measure the time taken by this check to a high degree of accuracy could potentially use timing differences to gain knowledge of the password. (This is understood to be feasible on a local network, but not on the public internet.)
Privacy settings that restrict access to pages / documents on a per-user or per-group basis (as opposed to a shared password) are unaffected by this vulnerability.
Patches
Patched versions have been released as Wagtail 2.7.3 (for the LTS 2.7 branch), Wagtail 2.8.2 and Wagtail 2.9.
Workarounds
Site owners who are unable to upgrade to the new versions can use user- or group-based privacy restrictions to restrict access to sensitive information; these are unaffected by this vulnerability.
Affected software
Click a technology to see all vulnerabilities affecting it.
| Platform | Package | Vulnerable versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Python (PyPI) | wagtail | < 2.7.3, >= 2.8rc1, < 2.8.2, >= 2.9rc1, < 2.9 | 2.7.3, 2.8.2, 2.9 |
References
- https://github.com/wagtail/wagtail/security/advisories/GHSA-jjjr-3jcw-f8v6
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-11037
- https://github.com/wagtail/wagtail/commit/3c030490ed575bb9cd01dfb3a890477dcaeb2edf
- https://github.com/wagtail/wagtail/commit/b76ab57ee859732b9cf9287d380493ab24061090
- https://github.com/wagtail/wagtail/commit/ba9d424bd1ca5ce1910d3de74f5cc07214fbfb11
- https://github.com/wagtail/wagtail/commit/bac3cd0a26b023e595cf2959aae7da15bb5e4340
- https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/wagtail/PYSEC-2020-153.yaml
- https://github.com/wagtail/wagtail
- CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N- Weakness (CWE)
CWE-208, CWE-362- Platform
- Python (PyPI)
- Package
wagtail- Disclosed
- 30.04.2020
- Updated
- 11.10.2026 13:19
Sources and licenses
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - PYSEC-2020-153 - PyPA Advisory Database; CC BY 4.0
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-jjjr-3jcw-f8v6 - CC BY 4.0
Vulnerability history: wagtail
All published vulnerabilities of this package (Python (PyPI)), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.
- Total entries
- 30
- First → latest
- 04.2020 08.2026
- Without a fix
- 0
- Exploited in attacks
- 0
Severity breakdown
- High 5
- Medium 22
- Low 3
Disclosures per year
- 2020: 3
- 2021: 2
- 2022: 1
- 2023: 3
- 2024: 3
- 2025: 0
- 2026: 18
-
Potential Observable Timing Discrepancy in Wagtail this entry
Know which vulnerabilities affect your application
With the DockRay integration and software inventory enabled, DockRay checks reported component versions against known vulnerabilities and notifies you about confirmed matches. Coverage depends on the supported technology and available advisory data.