CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-49298NVD status: Analyzed

Apache Airflow: Insertion of Sensitive Information into Externally-Accessible File or Directory

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-49298 is a high-severity insertion of sensitive information into externally-accessible file or directory vulnerability in Apache Airflow from Apache, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. The record lists versions 3.0.0, 3.2.2 as the first without the flaw, so updating Apache Airflow to one of those releases or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.49% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Update Apache Airflow to 3.0.0 or 3.2.2, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  2. Update Airflow to 3.2.2 or a later version.
  3. Read the advisory on lists.apache.org for workarounds and exact fixed builds.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
ApacheApache Airflowbefore 3.0.0; 3.0.0 up to, but not including, 3.2.23.0.0, 3.2.2
ApacheAirflowbefore 3.2.23.2.2

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
LowA basic user account is enough.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality
HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
Integrity
HighData or code can be modified at will.
Availability
HighThe component can be taken down completely.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by CISA (ADP).

Official description

A bug in Apache Airflow's KubernetesExecutor caused JWT tokens used by worker pods to authenticate against the Execution API to be passed to the worker container as command-line arguments visible in the pod spec. An authenticated UI/API user with Kubernetes read-only access to the cluster (e.g. `pods/get` in the Airflow namespace) could harvest the JWT from `kubectl describe pod` output and then call state-mutating Execution API endpoints — triggering Dag runs, clearing runs, reading or writing Variables / Connections / XComs — as if they were a running task. Affects deployments using the `KubernetesExecutor`. Users are advised to upgrade to `apache-airflow` 3.2.2 or later. This is the airflow-core half of the same vulnerability addressed by [CVE-2026-27173](https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-27173), which shipped the apache-airflow-providers-cncf-kubernetes side of the fix. Deployments that already upgraded `apache-airflow-providers-cncf-kubernetes` to 10.17.0 or later per the CVE-2026-27173 advisory should additionally upgrade `apache-airflow` to 3.2.2 or later to close the core-side surface — the two fixes are complementary, not duplicates.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Insertion of Sensitive Information into Externally-Accessible File or Directory

The product places sensitive information into files or directories that are accessible to actors who are allowed to have access to the files, but not to the sensitive information.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Do not expose file and directory information to the user.

More Insertion of Sensitive Information into Externally-Accessible File or Directory vulnerabilities (CWE-538)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Patches and release notes

Other vulnerabilities in Apache Airflow

All Apache Airflow vulnerabilities

Recent Insertion of Sensitive Information into Externally-Accessible File or Directory vulnerabilities

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