Apache Airflow: command injection in example Dag (CVE-2026-101031) and nine other flaws fixed in 3.4.0
CVE-2026-101031 CVE-2026-107474 CVE-2026-111395 CVE-2026-111421 CVE-2026-111452 CVE-2026-111453 CVE-2026-111454 CVE-2026-111455 CVE-2026-113504 CVE-2026-113508
Published 11/11/2026 21:55
Timeline
2 events over 15 d
- 27/10/2026 13:51ConfirmedBSI CERT-Bund (WID)+15 d
- 11/11/2026 21:55Published on WatchtowerPro CISO
In short
A user who is allowed to trigger the example_dag_decorator example Dag can run shell commands on an Airflow worker when example Dags are loaded (load_examples enabled). Nine other flaws disclosed at the same time include secrets shown in cleartext and missing API permission checks. All are fixed in Apache Airflow 3.4.0; update to 3.4.0 or later. Shodan recognises at least 53,582 internet-facing Apache Airflow servers worldwide, 10,504 of them in the EU (11/11/2026); the real number is likely higher, and how many run an affected version is not yet known.
How bad is it
High overall: the example Dag flaw lets a user who can trigger it run commands on a worker, and related flaws expose secrets and bypass API permissions; BSI CERT-Bund rates them high.
Confirmed by the vendor or a CERT - no exploitation reported yet.
Severity score
The worst of 10 CVEs · CVSS 3.1 from NVD, from the vendor, read 11/11/2026. CVE-2026-101031, CVE-2026-107474, CVE-2026-111395, CVE-2026-111452, CVE-2026-111454, CVE-2026-111455, CVE-2026-113504, CVE-2026-113508: no score published yet.
What an attacker needs
- Internet access to itEnough
- A loginA user account
- A user to clickNo
- Special settingsNo
Red helps the attacker, blue holds them back, grey is not published yet.
If it works, an attacker can
- Run their own code on the system
- Read the data it holds
- Change or delete that data
- Take it offline
Type: code execution.
A score is the worst case for the flaw, not a verdict on any one system. How we score · ReconX customers see which of their own systems are affected.
Affected versions
- CVE-2026-101031: Apache Airflow from 3.0.5 before 3.4.0. Exposure is higher when example Dags are loaded (load_examples enabled). The attacker needs permission to trigger that Dag.
- Other flaws: most affect Apache Airflow before 3.4.0. CVE-2026-111421 affects 3.0.0 before 3.4.0, CVE-2026-111395 affects 3.2.0 before 3.4.0, CVE-2026-111453 affects 3.3.2 before 3.4.0, CVE-2026-111455 affects 3.3.0 before 3.4.0.
Fixed in
- 3.4 branch: 3.4.0
What to do now
- Update Apache Airflow to 3.4.0 or later. Users who upgraded for CVE-2025-54941 need to upgrade again.
- Until you can update, set load_examples = False in the Airflow configuration to disable example Dags.
- Interim measures reduce exposure and do not make a server safe; only the update fixes the flaw.
ReconX customers see the full notice - and their own systems
Our customers are alerted at every phase. Until a patch exists, the ReconX agent watches their servers from the inside for anomalies, and our outside view - the attacker's view - shows which systems to fix first.
In ReconX: the full analysis, 4 open questions, followed up as sources answer and all 12 sources with their dates. And technology matching: which of your systems run Apache Airflow, at which version, fixed or not - and what each one needs.
Main sources
[NEU] [mittel] Apache Airflow: Schwachstelle ermöglicht Codeausführung CERT · [NEU] [hoch] Apache Airflow: Mehrere Schwachstellen CERT · CVE-2026-101031: Apache Airflow: Shell command injection in the example_dag_decorator example Dag via an IPv6 zone identifier Research