Apache Airflow: Task-instance API exposes secrets in deferred trigger kwargs
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Information disclosure
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · None · None
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CISA ADP. Fix status from CNA and GitHub. Impact type from CWE-200.
Summary
In Apache Airflow before 3.3.0, the REST API task-instance detail and list endpoints returned a deferred task's trigger kwargs without masking. When a deferred operator passed a secret (for example a provider API key) into its trigger, any authenticated user with DAG-scoped task-instance read access for that DAG could read that secret in clear text while the task was deferred. Users should upgrade to apache-airflow 3.3.0 or later, which masks sensitive values in trigger kwargs returned by the API.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Apache Airflow (Apache Software Foundation) Fixed in 3.0.0
- Fix · CNA Apache Airflow (Apache Software Foundation) Fixed in 3.3.0
- Fix · GHSA-22hf-vx2v-gjff apache-airflow (PyPI) Fixed in 3.3.0 Advisory →
Fixed in the same release
Records fixed by the same vendor advisory or release, as the CNA lists them.
- Release ·
Apache Airflow 3.3.0
6 records Highest priority Priority MEDIUM 1 MEDIUM, 5 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2026-25681 Apache Airflow: DAG author RCE on webserver via unrestricted import_string() in BaseSerialization.deserialize()Priority MEDIUM 52
- TI-2026-36482 Apache Airflow: Per-DAG read bypass discloses co-located DAGs' source via GET /api/v2/dagSources/{dag_id}Priority LOW 30
- TI-2026-36154 Apache Airflow: Config API leaks per-key secrets backend kwargs - masker bypass on synthetic optionsPriority LOW 30
- Release ·
Apache Airflow 3.0.0
5 records Highest priority Priority MEDIUM 1 MEDIUM, 4 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2026-25681 Apache Airflow: DAG author RCE on webserver via unrestricted import_string() in BaseSerialization.deserialize()Priority MEDIUM 52
- TI-2026-36154 Apache Airflow: Config API leaks per-key secrets backend kwargs - masker bypass on synthetic optionsPriority LOW 30
- TI-2026-36096 Apache Airflow: Bulk JSON Variables bypass should_hide_value_for_key - redact() called without the keyPriority LOW 30
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-49487
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-22hf-vx2v-gjff
- 2026-10-05 EPSS moved to the 50th–90th percentile
- 2026-11-03 Fix available: [email protected], [email protected] · CNA
References
Advisory 3
More Apache Airflow vulnerabilities
- TI-2020-10905 Missing authentication in Apache Airflow KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2020-09638 OS command injection in Apache Airflow KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- 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
Sources
- CVE-2026-49487 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-49487 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-22hf-vx2v-gjff · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
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