Snippet

View Access Control with Custom Function Decorators and Cache Counters

Protecting sensitive Django view endpoints against brute-force attacks or abuse can be accomplished by writing custom function decorators. Utilizing Django's caching framework inside decorator functions allows tracking and restricting per-IP request frequency dynamically with minimal latency.

snippet.py

python

from functools import wraps
from django.core.cache import cache
from django.http import HttpResponseForbidden
 
def rate_limit_ip(max_requests=5, timeout=60):
    def decorator(view_func):
        @wraps(view_func)
        def _wrapped_view(request, *args, **kwargs):
            ip = request.META.get('REMOTE_ADDR')
            cache_key = f"rate_limit_{ip}"
            requests = cache.get(cache_key, 0)
            if requests >= max_requests:
                return HttpResponseForbidden("Rate limit exceeded")
            cache.set(cache_key, requests + 1, timeout)
            return view_func(request, *args, **kwargs)
        return _wrapped_view
    return decorator

django

Breakdown

def rate_limit_ip(max_requests=5, timeout=60):

Outer factory function that accepts configuration parameters for request thresholds and expiration.

@wraps(view_func)

Preserves original view function metadata such as docstrings and name attributes.

cache_key = f"rate_limit_{ip}"

Constructs a unique cache identifier derived from the client's IP address.

if requests >= max_requests:

Evaluates request frequency against the limit threshold before delegating to the view handler.

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View Access Control with Custom Function Decorators and Cache Counters

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