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Fencer Intel
high 8.8

CVE-2020-11978 kev in the critical feed json

Remote code execution (RCE) in Apache Airflow

published 6y ago modified 2mo ago also BIT-airflow-2020-11978 , EUVD-2020-0032 , GHSA-rvmq-4x66-q7j3 , PYSEC-2020-14

cvss
8.8
version 3.1, CNA
cisa kev
Exploited
added 2022-01-18
epss
99.2%
EPSS 99.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 99.9%
public exploits
2
Metasploit and Exploit-DB, plus a Nuclei check

Summary

An issue was found in Apache Airflow versions 1.10.10 and below. A remote code/command injection vulnerability was discovered in one of the example DAGs shipped with Airflow which would allow any authenticated user to run arbitrary commands as the user running airflow worker/scheduler (depending on the executor in use). If you already have examples disabled by setting load_examples=False in the config then you are not vulnerable.

Patch / fix

cisa required action Apply updates per vendor instructions.

  • pypi apache-airflow 1.10.11rc1
  • bitnami airflow 1.10.11
  • apache airflow 1.10.11

Is CVE-2020-11978 in your dependencies? Fencer shows which of your repositories are affected as soon as an advisory lands, and opens the fix as a pull request.

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Timeline

  1. First public exploit (Metasploit exploit/linux/http/apache_airflow_dag_rce)
  2. Published
  3. Added to CISA KEV
  4. CISA patch deadline
  5. CISA SSVC: exploitation active

Known exploited

Added
4y ago
Patch by
2022-07-18 (4y ago)
Ransomware
Not known
Required action
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Vendor, product
Apache, Airflow
CISA name
Apache Airflow Command Injection

CISA SSVC

Exploitation
Active, exploited in the wild
Automatable
no
Technical impact
total
Assessed
last yr.

Exploit prediction

99.19% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 99.9% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-09).

Exploits and checks

  • Metasploit exploit/linux/http/apache_airflow_dag_rce Apache Airflow 1.10.10 - Example DAG Remote Code Execution metasploit exploit, excellent rank, 2020-07-14
  • EDB-49927 Apache Airflow 1.10.10 - 'Example Dag' Remote Code Execution webapps, 2021-06-02
  • Nuclei template Apache Airflow <=1.10.10 - Remote Code Execution nuclei detection template
  • packetstormsecurity.com http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/162908/Apache-Airflow-1.10.10-Remote-Code-Execution.html referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified
  • packetstormsecurity.com http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/174764/Apache-Airflow-1.10.10-Remote-Code-Execution.html referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified

CVSS scores

assigned by version score vector
CISA ADP 3.1 8.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
GitHub 3.1 8.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:H
NVD 3.1 8.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CNA 3.1 8.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD 2.0 6.5 AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:P/I:P/A:P
OSV 3.1 8.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected packages

ecosystem package affected fixed in
pypi apache-airflow
<1.10.11rc1
1.10.11rc1
bitnami airflow
<1.10.11
1.10.11

Affected products

  • Apache Software Foundation Apache Airflow

Classification

Weakness
  • CWE-78 Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command
  • CWE-77 Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command

References

Sources

Fencer Intel keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.