---
title: "WEB-PY-005 Python Development Server Used in a Service"
canonical: https://openvapt.com/checks/WEB-PY-005.html
html: https://openvapt.com/checks/WEB-PY-005.html
site: OpenVAPT, https://openvapt.com/
license: OpenVAPT Source-Available Licence 1.3, https://openvapt.com/legal/licence-text.html
modified: 2026-10-14
version: 0.1.0-alpha.6
---

# WEB-PY-005 Python Development Server Used in a Service

Checks whether a service runs a development web server such as manage.py runserver, flask run or python -m http.server.

- Domain: Web Apps
- Severity: Medium
- Control category: Secure Configuration
- Fix effort: medium
- CVSS v3.1 vector: `CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:L`
- CIS Controls v8: 16.7
- NIST CSF 2.0: PR.PS-01
- CWE: CWE-489, CWE-1188
- OWASP Top 10 2021: A05:2021
- OWASP ASVS 4.0.3: 14.3.2
- NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5: CM-7

## Why It Matters

Development servers are documented as unsuitable for production: they have not been security-audited, handle load and slow clients poorly and often run with debugging features. python -m http.server publishes a whole folder.

## How It Detects

Reads ExecStart= of long-running services and flags manage.py runserver, flask run, python -m http.server or SimpleHTTPServer, uvicorn --reload and streamlit run.

## How to Fix

Serve the application with a production server (Gunicorn or uWSGI for WSGI, Uvicorn without --reload or Hypercorn for ASGI) bound to 127.0.0.1, behind nginx or Apache. Serve static files from the web server.

## How to Verify

```
systemctl show -p ExecStart <unit>  shows a production server.
```

## Learn the Theory

- [P13 Application Servers: Tomcat, Node.js and Python](https://openvapt.com/academy/p13.md)

## References

- [Django documentation, django-admin runserver (not for production)](https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/6.1/ref/django-admin/#runserver)
- [Flask documentation, Deploying to Production](https://flask.palletsprojects.com/en/stable/deploying/)

## Source Code

https://github.com/OpenVAPT/openvapt/blob/574f7f3333c44b75a3c649e2d93a76d507f75adf/internal/checks/web/runtimes.go

Run it: `openvapt scan --only WEB-PY-005`. Read it offline: `openvapt explain WEB-PY-005`.

---

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