Deserialization in Apache Airflow
CVE-2026-45360
Apache 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.
Vulnerability class: Insecure Deserialization
Published · last modified .
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 7.3 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L.
EPSS exploit prediction
EPSS: 0.009 (59.0th percentile), scored .
Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 59th percentile — 59.0% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.
EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.007 · newest: 0.009 · change: +0.003
Affected products
- Apache Airflow
- Apache Software Foundation Airflow — versions 0
Weakness classification (CWE)
References
- github.com/apache/airflow/pull/66737 (Patch, patch, Issue Tracking)
- lists.apache.org/thread/q227dghjwgfz8xsxrf2pwpz4wk43zm83 (vendor-advisory, Mailing List, Vendor Advisory)
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 (Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2026-45360?
- CVE-2026-45360 is a high-severity vulnerability in Apache Airflow, classified under Deserialization of Untrusted Data. CVSS score: 7.3/10. Published 2026-06-01.
- How severe is CVE-2026-45360?
- High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.3 out of 10.