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TI-2020-09638 Aliases CVE-2020-11978GHSA-rvmq-4x66-q7j3

OS command injection in Apache Airflow

Priority CRITICAL 97Exploited in the wildCWE-78Published · Updated

Key facts

Attack vector
Network
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
Low
Impact type
Code execution
Confidentiality · integrity · availability
High · High · High
Fix status
Fixed

Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CISA ADP. Fix status from CNA and GitHub. Impact type from CWE-78.

Summary

An issue was found in Apache Airflow versions 1.10.10 and below. A remote code/command injection vulnerability was discovered in one of the example DAGs shipped with Airflow which would allow any authenticated user to run arbitrary commands as the user running airflow worker/scheduler (depending on the executor in use). If you already have examples disabled by setting load_examples=False in the config then you are not vulnerable.

Why it matters now

Exploitation Active In CISA KEV since 2022-01-18CISA due date 2022-07-18
EPSS 0.99189 99th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Public exploit Yes 2 exploit referencesTagged by NVD
Fix Fixed apache-airflow (PyPI): 1.10.11rc1

SSVC decision points

CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3

Exploitation
Active
Automatable
No
Technical impact
Total

The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.

Affected products

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed inStatusSource
ApacheApache Airflowup to 1.10.10—No fix listedCNA
—apache-airflow (PyPI)before 1.10.11rc11.10.11rc1Patch availableGHSA-rvmq-4x66-q7j3
  • Apache Airflow VendorApache Affected up to 1.10.10 Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
  • apache-airflow (PyPI) Vendor— Affected before 1.10.11rc1 Fixed in 1.10.11rc1 Patch available GHSA-rvmq-4x66-q7j3

CPE configurations NVD · 1

CPEVersionsRoleVendor
cpe:2.3:a:apache:airflow:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*before 1.10.11VulnerableApache
  • cpe:2.3:a:apache:airflow:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions before 1.10.11 Vulnerable ·Apache

Remediation

  • Fix · GHSA-rvmq-4x66-q7j3 apache-airflow (PyPI) Fixed in 1.10.11rc1 Advisory →

Timeline

  1. 2022-01-18 Added to CISA KEV
  2. 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2020-11978
  3. 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-rvmq-4x66-q7j3

References

Exploit 2

Advisory 3

Other 5

  • TI-2020-10905 Missing authentication in Apache Airflow KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
  • TI-2022-19017 Apache Airflow <2.4.0 has an RCE in a bash example CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
  • TI-2021-16140 Apache Airflow: Variable Import endpoint missed authentication check CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
  • TI-2022-08169 Apache Airflow: RCE in example DAGs CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
  • TI-2024-26776 Apache Airflow: DAG Author Code Execution possibility in airflow-scheduler CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
  • TI-2022-22368 Apache Airflow: Open redirect during login CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 6.1
See all 157 →

Sources

This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences