Apache Airflow scheduler unsafely deserializes human-in-the-loop task next_kwargs

Exploitation

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

CVSS

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

EPSS

• CVE-2026-67260: 0.78% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 55.94 (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 3.3.0 moved human-in-the-loop tasks from the triggerer to a new awaitinginput task state swept by the scheduler. That sweep deserializes the task instance's nextkwargs without an allow-list, so a Dag author — who controls that value through the task execution API — can cause an arbitrary module import and object instantiation inside the scheduler process, or terminate the scheduler job. No non-default configuration is required: the sweep runs unconditionally every 15 seconds, and the default alloweddeserializationclasses setting does not cover this code path. Versions before 3.3.0 are not affected, because human-in-the-loop tasks deferred onto the triggerer instead. This is a different code path from CVE-2026-58076, which covers the same unguarded exception-node deserialization reached elsewhere — deployments that applied that fix must upgrade for this issue as well. Users are advised to 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, 23:15 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 13:54 UTC

1. Revision 1 · created · 26 Oct 2026

   Published from ghsa record GHSA-q4c3-7575-55j2

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2026-67260

Advisory: Apache Airflow scheduler unsafely deserializes human-in-the-loop task next_kwargs
IDs: CVE-2026-67260, GHSA-q4c3-7575-55j2
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2026-67260 (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: High (CVSS 7.3)
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 >= 3.3.0, < 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-q4c3-7575-55j2 (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-q4c3-7575-55j2 lists affected ranges: PyPI apache-airflow >=3.3.0 <3.3.1)

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