CVE-2026-27173 Apache Airflow CNCF Kubernetes provider: JWT Token Exposure in KubernetesExecutor Command-Line Arguments
Attackers with read-only Kubernetes access can steal JWT tokens from command-line arguments to modify Airflow database state.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-27173?
CVE-2026-27173 is a high-severity vulnerability in Apache Airflow CNCF Kubernetes provider, published on 19 May 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
JWT tokens that were used by workers in Kubernetes Executors have been exposed to users who had read only access to Kuberentes Pods. This could allow users with just read-only access to perform actions that were only available to running tasks via Task SDK and potentially allow to modify state of Airflow Database for tasks.
Weakness: CWE-538
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-27173?
3 open source packages ship an affected version, including apache-airflow-providers-cncf-kubernetes. It affects 1 product.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
apache-airflow-providers-cncf-kubernetes PyPI | All versions | 10.17.0 |
apache-airflow-providers-cncf-kubernetes PyPI | All versions | 10.17.0 |
apache-airflow-providers-cncf-kubernetes PyPI | All versions | 10.17.0 |
Products include Apache Apache-Airflow-Providers-Cncf-Kubernetes.
How do I fix CVE-2026-27173?
Upgrade apache-airflow-providers-cncf-kubernetes to 10.17.0 or later.
Is CVE-2026-27173 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-27173 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Apache Airflow CNCF Kubernetes provider
Sources
Also known as CLEANSTART-2026-LB45113, ECHO-b981-d563-1df6, GHSA-524w-vq63-2xhf, MINI-jgwx-5hrw-77w3, MINI-w7f4-77xh-3cvf, PYSEC-2026-2365.