VulnerabilityPublished 12 Aug 2026Updated 3 Nov 2026

CVE-2026-68970: Apache Airflow · Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information

Affects Apache AirflowSource CVE Database V5

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Mentioned vulnerabilities

CVE-2026-59244

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.5 Medium : upgrade to 3.0.0 when convenient.

Data as of 10 Nov 2026, 23:24 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

6.5Medium

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

Thin evidence

One scorer or none

CVSS scores by source
CISA-ADP	CVSS 3.1	6.5

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 13% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 3.0.0, 3.3.1

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 12 Aug 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 10 Nov 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 3.0.0; Apache Airflow and apache-airflow and apache-airflow-core to 3.3.1.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Apache Airflowapache-airflow	Affected <3.0.0	Fixed in 3.0.0
Apache Airflowapache-airflow-core	Affected >=3.0.0 <3.3.1	Fixed in 3.3.1
PyPIapache-airflow`pkg:pypi/apache-airflow`Other threats	Affected <3.3.1	Fixed in 3.3.1
PyPIapache-airflow`pkg:pypi/apache-airflow`Other threats	Affected <3.0.0	Fixed in 3.0.0
PyPIapache-airflow-core`pkg:pypi/apache-airflow-core`Other threats	Affected >=3.0.0 <3.3.1	Fixed in 3.3.1

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 to Apache Airflow version 3.3.1 or later, which addresses this vulnerability by properly masking list-shaped JSON Variable values. There is no indication that temporary workarounds or configuration changes mitigate this issue. Patch status is not explicitly confirmed in the vendor advisory, but the upgrade recommendation indicates an official fix is available in version 3.3.1.

Description

Apache Airflow's Task SDK did not mask the contents of a Variable whose JSON value is a list, so secrets stored in that shape appeared in cleartext in task logs and in the Rendered Templates UI. Masking was applied only when the deserialized value was a string or a dict; a list at the top level matched neither and was returned unmasked. Any authenticated user able to read the logs or rendered templates of a task that references such a Variable could recover the values, with no special configuration required. This is the list-shaped counterpart of CVE-2026-59244, whose fix covered the dict case only, so deployments that upgraded in response to that advisory remain affected and must upgrade again. Users are advised to upgrade to apache-airflow 3.3.1 or later.

Impact

Sensitive information stored as list-shaped JSON Variables is exposed in cleartext in task logs and the Rendered Templates UI. This exposure allows any authenticated user with access to these logs or templates to retrieve secrets without additional privileges or configuration changes. This can lead to unauthorized disclosure of sensitive data within affected Apache Airflow deployments.

Summary

The vulnerability in Apache Airflow's Task SDK involves cleartext storage of sensitive information when the Variable's JSON value is a list. Masking was only applied to strings or dictionaries, leaving list-shaped secrets unmasked and exposed in task logs and the Rendered Templates UI. This flaw allows any authenticated user with read access to logs or templates to recover sensitive values. It is a variant of CVE-2026-59244, which only fixed the dict case. The issue persists in deployments that upgraded only for the previous fix. The recommended remediation is to upgrade to Apache Airflow version 3.3.1 or later.

CWE-312Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessOWASP Top 10 A06:2025: Insecure Design (opens in a new tab)
The product stores sensitive information in cleartext within a resource that might be accessible to another control sphere.
Implementation · System Configuration · Operation
When storing data in the cloud (e.g., S3 buckets, Azure blobs, Google Cloud Storage, etc.), use the provider's controls to encrypt the data at rest.
Implementation · System Configuration · Operation
In some systems/environments such as cloud, the use of "double encryption" (at both the software and hardware layer) might be required, and the developer might be solely responsible for both layers, instead of shared responsibility with the administrator of the broader system/environment.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Secure Design Principles (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V8.1.6 (opens in a new tab)
V8.2.3 (opens in a new tab)
V8.2.2 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Retrieve Embedded Sensitive Data (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 12 Aug 2026, 16:00 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-312

Technical details

References

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