Apache Airflow Variables UI fails to mask sensitive values in deeply nested iterables

Exploitation

No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.

CVSS

4.3 · CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N

EPSS

• CVE-2026-54183: 0.42% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 36.66 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Apache Airflow's secrets masker hides values stored under sensitive key names when they are displayed in the UI. The masker's recursion-depth limit did not descend into values nested inside a list, tuple, or set beyond that limit, so an Airflow Variable holding such a deeply-nested value was shown unmasked in the Variables UI. The exposure is limited to the UI: any authenticated user who can see the Variable in the UI can already read its full value through the Variables REST API, so this does not disclose data the user could not otherwise obtain — the masking is a shoulder-surfing defense for the UI, not an access-control boundary. This is an incomplete-fix follow-up to CVE-2026-42358, whose fix made only the dictionary walk unbounded; lists, tuples, and sets beyond the depth limit remained unmasked in the UI. Deployments that applied the CVE-2026-42358 fix should also upgrade to address this residual case. Upgrade to apache-airflow 3.3.1 or later.

Published by the source

12 Aug 2026, 18:31 UTC

Last modified by the source

2 Oct 2026, 23:13 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 13:54 UTC

1. Revision 1 · created · 26 Oct 2026

   Published from ghsa record GHSA-g4qj-5vxv-wggf

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2026-54183

Advisory: Apache Airflow Variables UI fails to mask sensitive values in deeply nested iterables
IDs: CVE-2026-54183, GHSA-g4qj-5vxv-wggf
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2026-54183 (revision 1, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 13:54 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: Medium (CVSS 4.3)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: apache-airflow 3.3.1. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- PyPI apache-airflow: affected < 3.3.1; fixed in 3.3.1

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- `python -m pip show apache-airflow`: prints the installed version. Run with the environment that serves production active.

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on apache-airflow.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-g4qj-5vxv-wggf (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-g4qj-5vxv-wggf lists affected ranges: PyPI apache-airflow >=0 <3.3.1)

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