CVE-2026-25917 Apache Airflow: API extra-links triggers XCom deserialization/class instantiation (Airflow 3.1.5)
Dag authors can execute arbitrary code in the webserver context by crafting malicious XCom payloads via API extra-links.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- An administrator
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-25917?
CVE-2026-25917 is a high-severity unsafe deserialization vulnerability in Apache Airflow, published on 18 Apr 2026. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Official description
Dag Authors, who normally should not be able to execute code in the webserver context could craft XCom payload causing the webserver to execute arbitrary code. Since Dag Authors are already highly trusted, severity of this issue is Low.
Users are recommended to upgrade to Apache Airflow 3.2.0, which fixes the issue.
Weakness: CWE-502
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-25917?
5 open source packages ship an affected version, including apache-airflow-core, airflow and apache-airflow. It affects 1 product.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
apache-airflow-core PyPI | All versions | 3.2.0 |
apache-airflow-core PyPI | All versions | 3.2.0 |
apache-airflow-core PyPI | All versions | 3.2.0 |
airflow Bitnami | All versions | 3.2.0 |
apache-airflow PyPI | All versions | 3.2.0 |
Products include Apache Airflow.
How do I fix CVE-2026-25917?
Upgrade apache-airflow-core to 3.2.0 or later.
Upgrade, and only deserialise data from trusted sources or with an allow-list of types. More about Unsafe deserialization.
Is CVE-2026-25917 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-25917 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Apache Airflow
- CVE-2020-13927 Apache Airflow's Experimental API Authentication Bypass
- CVE-2020-11978 Apache Airflow Command Injection
- CVE-2026-33264 Apache Airflow: DAG author RCE on webserver via unrestricted import_string() in BaseSerialization.deserialize()
- CVE-2023-25754 Apache Airflow: Privilege escalation using airflow logs
- CVE-2023-22884 Apache Airflow, Apache Airflow MySQL Provider: Arbitrary file read via MySQL provider in Apache Airflow
Sources
Also known as BIT-airflow-2026-25917, ECHO-272a-b69e-0885, GHSA-6ffj-2wg2-w45j, MINI-xj2q-g28v-gj2v, PYSEC-2026-13, PYSEC-2026-2359.