Vulnerability · Published Jun 1, 2026 · Assigned by apache
CVE-2026-45360Apache Airflow: Arbitrary import in custom deadline-reference deserialization
High 7.3
In plain English
A high-severity unsafe deserialization in Apache Airflow from Apache Software Foundation. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.7% (higher than 52% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.
Official description
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.
Affected packages & fixed versions
| Ecosystem | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| PyPI | apache-airflow | 3.2.2 | GHSA-2r5m-76wx-56gx |
| PyPI | apache-airflow | 3.2.2 | PYSEC-2026-186 |
Affected products (as reported)
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| Apache Software Foundation | Apache Airflow | 0 – before 3.0.0 |
| Apache Software Foundation | Apache Airflow | 3.0.0 – before 3.2.2 |
Weakness: CWE-502 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L