VulnerabilityPublished 1 Jun 2026Updated 2 Jun 2026

CVE-2026-40861: Apache Airflow · Link Following

Affects Apache AirflowSource CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.5 Medium : upgrade to 3.2.2 when convenient.

Data as of 29 Oct 2026, 19:04 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

6.5Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.6% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 52% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 3.2.2

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: None
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 1 Jun 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 29 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade Apache Airflow and apache-airflow to 3.2.2.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Apache Software FoundationApache Airflow	Affected <3.2.2	Fixed in 3.2.2
PyPIapache-airflow`pkg:pypi/apache-airflow`Other threats	Affected <3.2.2	Fixed in 3.2.2

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

Upgrade Apache Airflow to version 3.2.2 or later, where this vulnerability is fixed. Additionally, as a defense-in-depth measure, deploy the worker and API server with separate log volumes to prevent worker-controlled paths from reaching the API server's filesystem. Patch status is confirmed by the vendor advisory recommending upgrade to 3.2.2.

Description

CVE-2026-40861 is a medium severity vulnerability in Apache Airflow prior to version 3.2.2. It involves improper link resolution before file access, allowing a DAG author to cause the FileTaskHandler to read or overwrite arbitrary files outside the intended log directory. This occurs when the worker log folder is shared with the API server. The vulnerability can lead to sensitive file disclosure but does not affect availability or integrity directly.

Impact

An attacker with DAG author privileges can read sensitive files such as /etc/passwd or airflow.cfg or overwrite arbitrary files accessible by the API server process. This compromises confidentiality but does not impact integrity or availability directly. The vulnerability requires the worker log folder to be shared with the API server, limiting exposure to certain deployment configurations.

Summary

This vulnerability (CWE-59) in Apache Airflow allows a DAG author to exploit improper symbolic link resolution in the FileTaskHandler. By creating a symlink in the task's log directory pointing to arbitrary files readable by the API server (read-path attack) or by supplying a specially crafted task_id containing '..' sequences (write-path attack), the log path can be resolved outside the configured base_log_folder. This results in unauthorized file disclosure or overwriting. The issue only affects deployments where the worker log folder is shared with the API server. The vendor recommends upgrading to Apache Airflow 3.2.2 or later and suggests separating log volumes for the worker and API server as a defense-in-depth measure.

CWE-59Improper Link Resolution Before File Access (Link Following) (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: MediumOWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an unintended resource.
Architecture and Design · Separation of Privilege
Follow the principle of least privilege when assigning access rights to entities in a software system.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Symlink Attack (opens in a new tab)
Using Malicious Files (opens in a new tab)
Leverage Executable Code in Non-Executable Files (opens in a new tab)
Manipulating Web Input to File System Calls (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 10 Jul 2026, 09:57 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-59

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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