CVE-2026-87975: Privilege abuse in model formsets with editable primary keys
An issue was discovered in Django 6.1 before 6.1.2, 6.0 before 6.0.9, and 5.2 before 5.2.18. django.forms.models.BaseModelFormSet.saveexistingobjects() used the presence of a primary key on a submitted form's instance as evidence that the instance belonged to the formset's limiting queryset. An object outside that queryset is represented by a newly constructed instance whose primary key can still be populated from submitted data when the model's primary key is a field accepted by the form, such as a OneToOneField or parent link used as the primary key of an inline formset's model, or a natural or UUID primary key included in the form's fields. This allows an authenticated user permitted to submit such a formset to delete rows outside the limiting queryset, without any permission on the targeted object, via forged management-form data marking an out-of-queryset object for deletion. Models using the default AutoField primary key are not affected. Earlier, unsupported Django series (such as 5.1.x, 5.0.x, and 4.2.x) were not evaluated and may also be affected. Django would like to thank Seonggwon Yoon for reporting this issue.
Affected Software
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
Which applications are exposed to this issue?
Exposure requires a model formset with a limiting queryset where the model's primary key is accepted by the form. Examples include a OneToOneField or inline-formset parent link used as the primary key, or a natural or UUID primary key included in the form fields. Models using the default AutoField primary key are not affected.
What access does an attacker need to exploit it?
The attacker must be authenticated and permitted to submit the affected formset. They can forge management-form data to mark an object outside the formset's limiting queryset for deletion, without having permission on that targeted object.
Which Django releases contain fixes?
The issue is fixed in Django 6.1.2, 6.0.9, and 5.2.18. It affects releases before those versions in the respective 6.1, 6.0, and 5.2 series; unsupported earlier series were not evaluated and may also be affected.
How can we assess whether a formset is in scope?
Review submitted model formsets for forms that include an editable non-AutoField primary key and use a limiting queryset. Pay particular attention to inline formsets whose model uses a parent link as its primary key and forms that expose natural or UUID primary keys.