Apache Airflow: Arbitrary import in custom deadline-reference deserialization
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-45360 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | apache |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-06-01 09:16:19 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-06-01 13:13:55 UTC |
| Description | Apache Airflow's scheduler-side deadline-reference decoder (`SerializedCustomReference.deserialize_reference`) imported and dispatched arbitrary class paths drawn from DAG-author-controlled serialized state without an allowlist or plugin-registry gate. A DAG author whose code reaches the scheduler — the default on single-host deployments where the DAG bundle is importable from the scheduler process — could embed a custom `DeadlineReference` whose serialized form named an attacker-controlled module path, causing the scheduler to `import_string(...)` and instantiate that class with a live SQLAlchemy session attached. Affects deployments where DAG-author code is less trusted than the scheduler process. Users are advised to upgrade to `apache-airflow` 3.2.2 or later. |
Risk And Classification
Problem Types: CWE-502 | CWE-502 CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data
Vendor Declared Affected Products
| Source | Vendor | Product | Version | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | Apache Software Foundation | Apache Airflow | affected 3.2.2 semver | Not specified |
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/05/31/12 | af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 | www.openwall.com | |
| lists.apache.org/thread/q227dghjwgfz8xsxrf2pwpz4wk43zm83 | [email protected] | lists.apache.org | |
| github.com/apache/airflow/pull/66737 | [email protected] | github.com | |
| CVE Program record | CVE.ORG | www.cve.org | canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail | NVD | nvd.nist.gov | canonical, analysis |
Vendor Comments And Credit
Discovery Credit
CNA: Jarek Potiuk (en)
There are currently no legacy QID mappings associated with this CVE.