Apache Airflow: Session cookie silently overrides explicit Authorization bearer header, enabling session fixation
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-82355 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | apache |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-09-21 15:17:32 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-09-25 19:43:35 UTC |
| Description | When a request to the Airflow core API carries both a session cookie and an explicit `Authorization: Bearer` token, Airflow resolves the caller from the cookie and ignores the bearer token, inverting the intended precedence of bearer over cookie. The request then executes -- and is recorded in the audit log -- as the cookie's principal rather than the identity the client explicitly presented. Only Apache Airflow 3.3.0 and 3.3.1 are affected. Earlier releases do not contain the code path that caches the cookie-derived user, and are not vulnerable. Exploiting this requires an attacker to first place a valid session cookie of their own into the victim's browser or client: for example by cookie tossing from a sibling subdomain, through cross-site scripting in a separate application sharing a parent domain, or via a shared workstation. Deployments that host the Airflow UI on a domain shared with other applications are therefore the most exposed; a deployment on a dedicated domain with no co-hosted applications is not reachable this way. The consequence is principal confusion and misattributed audit records rather than a direct privilege escalation. Users of 3.3.0 or 3.3.1 should upgrade to Apache Airflow 3.3.2 or later, which resolves the caller from the explicitly supplied credential whenever one is present. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v3.1 4.2 MEDIUM from ADP
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
EPSS: 0.002650000 probability, percentile 0.186740000 (date 2026-09-22)
Problem Types: CWE-384 | CWE-384 CWE-384: Session Fixation
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | ADP | DECLARED | 4.2 | MEDIUM | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N |
| 3.1 | 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 | Secondary | 4.2 | MEDIUM | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N |
CVSS v3.1 Breakdown
Attack Vector
NetworkAttack Complexity
HighPrivileges Required
NoneUser Interaction
RequiredScope
UnchangedConfidentiality
LowIntegrity
LowAvailability
NoneCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
NVD Known Affected Configurations (CPE 2.3)
Vendor Declared Affected Products
| Source | Vendor | Product | Version | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | Apache Software Foundation | Apache Airflow | affected 3.3.0 3.3.2 semver | Not specified |
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| lists.apache.org/thread/3p7zpdvv40tn01m0xk5mt2rxg88mw8w1 | [email protected] | lists.apache.org | Mailing List, Vendor Advisory |
| www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/09/21/4 | af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 | www.openwall.com | Mailing List, Third Party Advisory |
| github.com/apache/airflow/pull/72225 | [email protected] | github.com | Issue Tracking, Patch |
| github.com/apache/airflow/pull/72723 | [email protected] | github.com | Issue Tracking, Patch |
| 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: Claude Security Scans (en)
CNA: Jarek Potiuk (en)
There are currently no legacy QID mappings associated with this CVE.