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Weekly Signal
Live intelligence Updated 19 Aug 2026 · 13:41 UTC

Apache · Airflow

CVE-2020-11978

Apache Airflow Command Injection

Recommended action

Validate affected assets and exposure now, then remediate on an accelerated schedule. Apply updates per vendor instructions.

View response plan
CVSS8.8
EPSS99.2%
KEVYes
ExploitationConfirmed exploitation
PatchPatch or guidance available ↓

Assessment

Why it matters

CISA lists this vulnerability as known to be exploited; exploitation is confirmed; EPSS is 99.2%; technical severity is CVSS 8.8.

An issue was found in Apache Airflow versions 1.10.10 and below. A remote code/command injection vulnerability was discovered in one of the example DAGs shipped with Airflow which would allow any authenticated user to run arbitrary commands as the user running airflow worker/scheduler (depending on the executor in use). If you already have examples disabled by setting load_examples=False in the config then you are not vulnerable.

Who should care

  • Teams operating Airflow
  • Vulnerability and exposure management teams
  • Security operations teams monitoring exploitation activity

Response plan

What I would do

  1. Confirm whether Airflow is present in the environment.
  2. Identify affected versions and establish whether vulnerable services are exposed or reachable.
  3. Apply updates per vendor instructions.
  4. Review relevant security telemetry for evidence of attempted or successful exploitation.
  5. Document the remediation decision and track it to verified completion.

Vendor remediation

Patch and remediation links

Use the vendor source below to confirm the correct fixed version, package or mitigation for your affected product.

Technical details

CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CWE
CWE-78
Affected versions
Apache Airflow (End Excluding: 1.10.11)
Published
16 July 2020
Attack vector
Network
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None

Signal timeline

  1. CVE published
  2. Added to CISA KEV
  3. Latest EPSS score: 99.2%
  4. Signal calculated at 84

External references

Live public intelligence This assessment combines public-source evidence. Validate the affected product, version and exposure against your own environment before making a risk decision.