Apache Airflow missing team context permits cross-team Dag actions and XCom reads

Exploitation

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

CVSS

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

EPSS

• CVE-2026-68971: 0.33% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 25.97 (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 asset materialization endpoint (POST /api/v2/assets/{assetid}/materialize) and the XCom result check on waitdagrununtilfinished authorized the target Dag without its team, unlike every other authorization site. A team-aware auth manager distinguishes a team-scoped Dag from a global one by that field -- the Keycloak auth manager, for example, checks the DAG resource instead of DAG:<team -- so the team-scoped permission that should gate the request was never consulted. In a deployment running multi-team mode with a team-aware auth manager, an authenticated user in one team could trigger Dag runs belonging to another team, supplying their own dagrunid and conf, and could read another team's XCom values. Deployments using the FAB auth manager are unaffected, as it has no multi-team support. Users are advised to upgrade to apache-airflow 3.3.1 or later, which resolves the Dag's team at both sites.

Published by the source

12 Aug 2026, 18:31 UTC

Last modified by the source

2 Oct 2026, 23:17 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 13:54 UTC

1. Revision 1 · created · 26 Oct 2026

   Published from ghsa record GHSA-5247-m8w9-2v4m

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2026-68971

Advisory: Apache Airflow missing team context permits cross-team Dag actions and XCom reads
IDs: CVE-2026-68971, GHSA-5247-m8w9-2v4m
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2026-68971 (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 6.5)
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-5247-m8w9-2v4m (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-5247-m8w9-2v4m lists affected ranges: PyPI apache-airflow >=0 <3.3.1)

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