VulnerabilityPublished 1 Jun 2026Updated 2 Jun 2026

CVE-2026-41017: Apache Airflow · Sensitive Cookie in HTTPS Session Without 'Secure' Attribute

Affects Apache AirflowSource CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.9 Medium : upgrade to 3.2.2 when convenient.

Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 11:52 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

5.9Medium

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

EPSS: 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 28% 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:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: High
Privileges Required: None
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: High: A successful attack depends on conditions beyond the attacker's control. That is, a successful attack cannot be accomplished at will, but requires the attacker to invest in some measurable amount of effort in preparation or execution against the vulnerable component before a successful attack can be expected. For example, a successful attack may require an attacker to: gather knowledge about the environment in which the vulnerable target/component exists; prepare the target environment to improve exploit reliability; or inject themselves into the logical network path between the target and the resource requested by the victim in order to read and/or modify network communications (e.g., a man in the middle attack).
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
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 30 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 to 3.2.2.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Apache Software FoundationApache Airflow	Affected >=3.0.0 <3.2.2	Fixed in 3.2.2
PyPIapache-airflow`pkg:pypi/apache-airflow`Other threats	Affected =3.0.0	Fixed in–

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

AI-suggested

Users should upgrade Apache Airflow to version 3.2.2 or later, where this issue is fixed by setting the Secure attribute on the JWT authentication cookie. Until upgrade, ensure that all traffic to the Airflow API server is strictly HTTPS and that no HTTP requests can be made to the same hostname to prevent cookie leakage. Patch status is not explicitly stated in the vendor advisory, but the recommendation to upgrade to 3.2.2 or later indicates an official fix is available in those versions.

Description

Apache Airflow version 3.0.0 has a vulnerability where the JWT authentication cookie is set without the Secure attribute. This affects deployments where the Airflow API server is behind an HTTPS-terminating reverse proxy that forwards plaintext HTTP traffic to the server. An attacker positioned on the network could capture the JWT cookie if a user’s browser sends an HTTP request to the same host, allowing session replay attacks. Users are advised to upgrade to version 3.2.2 or later to address this issue.

Impact

An attacker with network access can capture the JWT authentication cookie if a logged-in user's browser sends an HTTP request to the Airflow API server's hostname. This allows the attacker to replay the JWT cookie and potentially access the API with the user's privileges. The vulnerability compromises confidentiality of the JWT token but does not affect integrity or availability directly. The CVSS score is 5.9 (medium severity), reflecting the network attack vector with high complexity and no user interaction required.

Summary

The vulnerability in Apache Airflow 3.0.0 involves the JWTRefreshMiddleware setting the JWT auth cookie without the Secure flag. In typical cloud-native deployments where TLS termination occurs at a reverse proxy (e.g., nginx, Envoy, or managed load balancers) and the API server receives unencrypted HTTP traffic, the JWT cookie can be transmitted over cleartext HTTP. This allows a network attacker capable of intercepting HTTP traffic (such as a Wi-Fi MITM or hostile LAN) to capture the JWT cookie and replay it to gain unauthorized API access. The issue affects session integrity when the Secure flag is relied upon to protect the cookie during HTTPS sessions. The vendor recommends upgrading to Apache Airflow 3.2.2 or later to mitigate this vulnerability.

CWE-614Sensitive Cookie in HTTPS Session Without 'Secure' Attribute (opens in a new tab)
Variant weaknessOWASP Top 10 A02:2025: Security Misconfiguration (opens in a new tab)
The Secure attribute for sensitive cookies in HTTPS sessions is not set.
Implementation
Always set the secure attribute when the cookie should be sent via HTTPS only.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Cross-Site Request Forgery Prevention (opens in a new tab)
Session Management (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V3.4.1 (opens in a new tab)
V8.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V9.2.2 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Session Sidejacking (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, 09:58 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-614

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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