Apache Airflow: Arbitrary import in custom deadline-reference deserialization

Summary

CVECVE-2026-45360
StatePUBLISHED
Assignerapache
Source PriorityCVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published2026-06-01 09:16:19 UTC
Updated2026-06-01 13:13:55 UTC
DescriptionApache 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

SourceVendorProductVersionPlatforms
CNA Apache Software Foundation Apache Airflow affected 3.2.2 semver Not specified

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
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)

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