diff --git a/UPGRADE-2.2.md b/UPGRADE-2.2.md
index 4fbe41726dfa..83e328fb8ce0 100644
--- a/UPGRADE-2.2.md
+++ b/UPGRADE-2.2.md
@@ -12,6 +12,9 @@
 
  * The Stopwatch functionality was moved from HttpKernel\Debug to its own component
 
+ * The _method request parameter support has been disabled by default (call
+   Request::enableHttpMethodParameterOverride() to enable it).
+
 #### Deprecations
 
  * The `Request::splitHttpAcceptHeader()` is deprecated and will be removed in 2.3.
diff --git a/src/Symfony/Component/HttpFoundation/CHANGELOG.md b/src/Symfony/Component/HttpFoundation/CHANGELOG.md
index 8cb0db89673b..4b7d0c64ace5 100644
--- a/src/Symfony/Component/HttpFoundation/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/src/Symfony/Component/HttpFoundation/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@ CHANGELOG
 2.2.0
 -----
 
+ * added Request::getRealMethod() to get the "real" HTTP method (getMethod() returns the "intended" HTTP method)
+ * disabled _method request parameter support by default (call Request::enableHttpMethodParameterOverride() to enable it)
  * Request::splitHttpAcceptHeader() method is deprecated and will be removed in 2.3
 
 2.1.0
diff --git a/src/Symfony/Component/HttpFoundation/Request.php b/src/Symfony/Component/HttpFoundation/Request.php
index 79d34e842384..55bc4aa10d26 100644
--- a/src/Symfony/Component/HttpFoundation/Request.php
+++ b/src/Symfony/Component/HttpFoundation/Request.php
@@ -32,6 +32,8 @@ class Request
 {
     protected static $trustProxy = false;
 
+    protected static $httpMethodParameterOverride = false;
+
     /**
      * @var \Symfony\Component\HttpFoundation\ParameterBag
      *
@@ -503,6 +505,19 @@ public static function normalizeQueryString($qs)
         return implode('&', $parts);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Enables support for the _method request parameter to determine the intended HTTP method.
+     *
+     * Be warned that enabling this feature might lead to CSRF issues in your code.
+     * Check that you are using CSRF tokens when required.
+     *
+     * The HTTP method can only be overriden when the real HTTP method is POST.
+     */
+    public static function enableHttpMethodParameterOverride()
+    {
+        self::$httpMethodParameterOverride = true;
+    }
+
     /**
      * Gets a "parameter" value.
      *
@@ -915,26 +930,51 @@ public function setMethod($method)
     }
 
     /**
-     * Gets the request method.
+     * Gets the request "intended" method.
+     *
+     * If the X-HTTP-Method-Override header is set, and if the method is a POST,
+     * then it is used to determine the "real" intended HTTP method.
+     *
+     * The _method request parameter can also be used to determine the HTTP method,
+     * but only if enableHttpMethodParameterOverride() has been called.
      *
      * The method is always an uppercased string.
      *
      * @return string The request method
      *
      * @api
+     *
+     * @see getRealMethod
      */
     public function getMethod()
     {
         if (null === $this->method) {
             $this->method = strtoupper($this->server->get('REQUEST_METHOD', 'GET'));
+
             if ('POST' === $this->method) {
-                $this->method = strtoupper($this->headers->get('X-HTTP-METHOD-OVERRIDE', $this->request->get('_method', $this->query->get('_method', 'POST'))));
+                if ($method = $this->headers->get('X-HTTP-METHOD-OVERRIDE')) {
+                    $this->method = strtoupper($method);
+                } elseif (self::$httpMethodParameterOverride) {
+                    $this->method = strtoupper($this->request->get('_method', $this->query->get('_method', 'POST')));
+                }
             }
         }
 
         return $this->method;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Gets the "real" request method.
+     *
+     * @return string The request method
+     *
+     * @see getMethod
+     */
+    public function getRealMethod()
+    {
+        return $this->server->get('REQUEST_METHOD', 'GET');
+    }
+
     /**
      * Gets the mime type associated with the format.
      *
diff --git a/src/Symfony/Component/HttpFoundation/Tests/RequestTest.php b/src/Symfony/Component/HttpFoundation/Tests/RequestTest.php
index 488bf5eda9e2..6ccd725c646b 100644
--- a/src/Symfony/Component/HttpFoundation/Tests/RequestTest.php
+++ b/src/Symfony/Component/HttpFoundation/Tests/RequestTest.php
@@ -675,13 +675,28 @@ public function testGetSetMethod()
 
         $request->setMethod('POST');
         $request->request->set('_method', 'purge');
+        $this->assertEquals('POST', $request->getMethod(), '->getMethod() does not return the method from _method if defined and POST but support not enabled');
+
+        $request = new Request();
+        $request->setMethod('POST');
+        $request->request->set('_method', 'purge');
+        Request::enableHttpMethodParameterOverride();
         $this->assertEquals('PURGE', $request->getMethod(), '->getMethod() returns the method from _method if defined and POST');
+        $this->disableHttpMethodParameterOverride();
 
+        $request = new Request();
+        $request->setMethod('POST');
+        $request->query->set('_method', 'purge');
+        $this->assertEquals('POST', $request->getMethod(), '->getMethod() does not return the method from _method if defined and POST but support not enabled');
+
+        $request = new Request();
         $request->setMethod('POST');
-        $request->request->remove('_method');
         $request->query->set('_method', 'purge');
+        Request::enableHttpMethodParameterOverride();
         $this->assertEquals('PURGE', $request->getMethod(), '->getMethod() returns the method from _method if defined and POST');
+        $this->disableHttpMethodParameterOverride();
 
+        $request = new Request();
         $request->setMethod('POST');
         $request->headers->set('X-HTTP-METHOD-OVERRIDE', 'delete');
         $this->assertEquals('DELETE', $request->getMethod(), '->getMethod() returns the method from X-HTTP-Method-Override even though _method is set if defined and POST');
@@ -807,6 +822,8 @@ public function testCreateFromGlobals($method)
 
         unset($_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'], $_SERVER['CONTENT_TYPE']);
 
+        $request = Request::createFromGlobals();
+        Request::enableHttpMethodParameterOverride();
         $_POST['_method']   = $method;
         $_POST['foo6']      = 'bar6';
         $_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'] = 'POST';
@@ -815,6 +832,7 @@ public function testCreateFromGlobals($method)
         $this->assertEquals('bar6', $request->request->get('foo6'));
 
         unset($_POST['_method'], $_POST['foo6'], $_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD']);
+        $this->disableHttpMethodParameterOverride();
     }
 
     public function testOverrideGlobals()
@@ -1254,6 +1272,14 @@ private function stopTrustingProxyData()
         $property->setAccessible(true);
         $property->setValue(false);
     }
+
+    private function disableHttpMethodParameterOverride()
+    {
+        $class = new \ReflectionClass('Symfony\\Component\\HttpFoundation\\Request');
+        $property = $class->getProperty('httpMethodParameterOverride');
+        $property->setAccessible(true);
+        $property->setValue(false);
+    }
 }
 
 class RequestContentProxy extends Request