GHSA-89cj-xrpx-j79m BIT-airflow-2026-40861 CVE-2026-40861 PYSEC-2026-181
Apache Airflow has a Link Following issue
- Severity
- 6.5 / 10
- Medium · CVSS 3.1
- Exploit chance (EPSS)
- 0.69%
- Chance of exploitation in the next 30 days. Higher than 52.86% of scored vulnerabilities.
- Known exploited
- No
- Not in CISA's catalog
- Weakness
- CWE-59 Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')
- Fix
3.2.2- Upgrade apache-airflow to this version or later
Description
A Dag author could either (a) create a symlink under their task's log directory pointing to an arbitrary file readable by the API server process (read-path attack — e.g. /etc/passwd or airflow.cfg) or (b) supply a task_id containing .. sequences accepted by the Task SDK's KEY_REGEX (write-path attack), and in both cases the FileTaskHandler resolves the log path outside the configured base_log_folder, leaking or overwriting arbitrary files. Only affects deployments where the worker log folder is shared with the API server. Users are advised to upgrade to apache-airflow 3.2.2 or later. As a defense-in-depth mitigation, deploy the worker and API server with separate log volumes so that worker-controlled paths cannot reach the API server's filesystem.
Affected versions
PyPI
| Package | Vulnerable | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| apache-airflow | < 3.2.2 |
3.2.2 |
How to fix
Move to the fixed version or later with your package manager, update the lockfile, and run your tests. If the package only arrives through another dependency, upgrade that dependency first. If none of its releases pulls a fixed version yet, force the version with your package manager's override.
apache-airflow PyPI → 3.2.2
- pip
pip install --upgrade "apache-airflow>=3.2.2"- poetry
poetry add "apache-airflow>=3.2.2"- uv
uv add "apache-airflow>=3.2.2"
Severity breakdown
CVSS 3.1 6.5
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
Weakness
CWE-59: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')
The product attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an unintended resource.
How to prevent it
- Architecture and Design: Follow the principle of least privilege when assigning access rights to entities in a software system. Denying access to a file can prevent an attacker from replacing that file with a link to a sensitive file. Ensure good compartmentalization in the system to provide protected areas that can be trusted.
References
Advisories
Packages
Other links
Timeline
- Published
- Last updated by the source
- Latest EPSS score
Related advisories
| Advisory | Severity | Why it's related |
|---|---|---|
| CVE-2020-13927 Authentication bypass in Apache Airflow | Critical Known exploited | Also affects apache-airflow |
| CVE-2020-11978 Remote code execution (RCE) in Apache Airflow | High Known exploited | Also affects apache-airflow |
| PYSEC-2026-3990 Apache Airflow: the Core API logout endpoint revokes only a session token presented as the _token cookie. | Critical | Also affects apache-airflow |
| PYSEC-2026-3989 When a request to the Airflow core API carries both a session cookie and an explicit `Authorization: Bearer` token, Airflow resolves the caller from the cookie… | Medium | Also affects apache-airflow |
| PYSEC-2026-3988 Apache Airflow's `/assets/events` API returned asset events for every Dag in the deployment, with no filter restricting them to the Dags the caller is… | Medium | Also affects apache-airflow |
| GHSA-5247-m8w9-2v4m Apache Airflow missing team context permits cross-team Dag actions and XCom reads | Medium | Also affects apache-airflow |
| GHSA-f3c2-j7g8-vpp8 Apache Airflow Task SDK fails to mask list-shaped JSON Variables | Medium | Also affects apache-airflow |
| GHSA-cjv4-7hp2-2x9h Apache Airflow bulk endpoints log Variable and Connection secrets in cleartext | Medium | Also affects apache-airflow |
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