Security Best Practices Overview
Django is built with security in mind - it protects against the most common web vulnerabilities by default. However, proper configuration and coding practices are essential to maintain security in production.
15 min•By Priygop Team•Updated 2026
Security Checklist
- DEBUG = False in production - ALWAYS
- SECRET_KEY - Use a strong, unique key; never commit to Git
- ALLOWED_HOSTS - Whitelist your domains
- HTTPS - Use SSL everywhere in production
- CSRF - Never disable without good reason
- SQL Injection - Use ORM, avoid raw SQL with user input
- XSS - Auto-escaping in templates, never use |safe on user input
- Clickjacking - X-Frame-Options header (enabled by default)
- Keep Django updated - security patches in every release
- python manage.py check --deploy - Run security checklist
Security Settings
Security Settings
# settings.py - Production security settings
# SECURITY
# DEBUG = False
# SECRET_KEY = os.environ.get('DJANGO_SECRET_KEY')
# ALLOWED_HOSTS = ['yourdomain.com', 'www.yourdomain.com']
# HTTPS settings
# SECURE_SSL_REDIRECT = True # Redirect HTTP to HTTPS
# SECURE_HSTS_SECONDS = 31536000 # HSTS for 1 year
# SECURE_HSTS_INCLUDE_SUBDOMAINS = True
# SECURE_HSTS_PRELOAD = True
# Cookie security
# SESSION_COOKIE_SECURE = True # Cookies only over HTTPS
# CSRF_COOKIE_SECURE = True # CSRF cookie only over HTTPS
# SESSION_COOKIE_HTTPONLY = True # No JS access to session cookie
# Content security
# SECURE_CONTENT_TYPE_NOSNIFF = True
# X_FRAME_OPTIONS = 'DENY' # Prevent clickjacking
# SECURE_BROWSER_XSS_FILTER = True
# Run security check:
# python manage.py check --deploy
# This checks for common security misconfigurations?? Tip
Tip
Run python manage.py check --deploy before deploying. It checks for common security misconfigurations.
Diagram
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QuerySets are LAZY - no DB hit until evaluated.
?? Common Mistake
Warning
Deploying with DEBUG=True. This exposes source code, database queries, and settings in error pages.
?? Practice Task
Note
(1) Run manage.py check --deploy. (2) Fix all warnings. (3) Set security headers in settings.
Quick Quiz
Key Takeaways
- Django is built with security in mind - it protects against the most common web vulnerabilities by default.
- DEBUG = False in production - ALWAYS
- SECRET_KEY - Use a strong, unique key; never commit to Git
- ALLOWED_HOSTS - Whitelist your domains