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CVE-2026-49298

Apache Airflow vulnerability

8.8 HIGHEPSS 0.81%
  1. Published1 Jun 2026

Description

A bug in Apache Airflow's KubernetesExecutor caused JWT tokens used by worker pods to authenticate against the Execution API to be passed to the worker container as command-line arguments visible in the pod spec. An authenticated UI/API user with Kubernetes read-only access to the cluster (e.g. `pods/get` in the Airflow namespace) could harvest the JWT from `kubectl describe pod` output and then call state-mutating Execution API endpoints — triggering Dag runs, clearing runs, reading or writing Variables / Connections / XComs — as if they were a running task. Affects deployments using the `KubernetesExecutor`. Users are advised to upgrade to `apache-airflow` 3.2.2 or later. This is the airflow-core half of the same vulnerability addressed by [CVE-2026-27173](https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-27173), which shipped the apache-airflow-providers-cncf-kubernetes side of the fix. Deployments that already upgraded `apache-airflow-providers-cncf-kubernetes` to 10.17.0 or later per the CVE-2026-27173 advisory should additionally upgrade `apache-airflow` to 3.2.2 or later to close the core-side surface — the two fixes are complementary, not duplicates.

CVSS 3.1 breakdown

Attack vectorNetwork
Attack complexityLow
Privileges requiredLow
User interactionNone
ScopeUnchanged
ConfidentialityHigh
IntegrityHigh
AvailabilityHigh
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected products

Apache Airflow< 3.2.2

Remediation

Fixed in
Apache Airflow≥ 3.2.2

References

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Frequently asked

Is CVE-2026-49298 being actively exploited?

CVE-2026-49298 is not in the CISA KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit probability is 0.81%.

How severe is CVE-2026-49298?

CVE-2026-49298 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8, rated high. EPSS estimates a 0.81% probability of exploitation.

Which products are affected by CVE-2026-49298?

Affected products include Apache Airflow.

How do I fix CVE-2026-49298?

Upgrade affected software to a fixed version, for example Apache Airflow 3.2.2 or later, then confirm no affected versions remain in your inventory.

How Secuno handles this

Secuno correlates vulnerabilities like CVE-2026-49298 against the real software inventory on every managed device, as each hourly inventory arrives. Rather than a static severity, each match is scored in context: exploit availability, EPSS, the asset's exposure, and business criticality decide where it lands in the queue. If an affected version is present anywhere across your portfolio, it surfaces automatically with a prioritised remediation path.

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Data from the NVD, CISA KEV catalog and FIRST EPSS. CVSS 3.1 base score shown where available.