Insecure default config of Celery worker in Apache Airflow
An issue was found in Apache Airflow versions 1.10.10 and below. When using CeleryExecutor, if an attack can connect to the broker (Redis, RabbitMQ) directly, it was possible to insert a malicious payload directly to the broker which could lead to a deserialization attack (and thus remote code execution) on the Worker.
Affected software
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| Platform | Package | Vulnerable versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Python (PyPI) | apache-airflow | < 1.10.11 | 1.10.11 |
References
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r7255cf0be3566f23a768e2a04b40fb09e52fcd1872695428ba9afe91%40%3Cusers.airflow.apache.org%3E
- https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-9g2w-5f3v-mfmm
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-11982
- https://github.com/apache/airflow/pull/13612
- https://github.com/apache/airflow/pull/7205
- https://github.com/apache/airflow
- https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/apache-airflow/PYSEC-2020-16.yaml
- CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H- Weakness (CWE)
CWE-502- Platform
- Python (PyPI)
- Package
apache-airflow- Disclosed
- 17.07.2020
- Updated
- 11.10.2026 11:19
Sources and licenses
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - PYSEC-2020-16 - PyPA Advisory Database; CC BY 4.0
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-9g2w-5f3v-mfmm - CC BY 4.0
Vulnerability history: apache-airflow
All published vulnerabilities of this package (Python (PyPI)), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.
- Total entries
- 158
- First → latest
- 08.2018 09.2026
- Without a fix
- 4
- Exploited in attacks
- 2
Severity breakdown
- Critical 16
- High 49
- Medium 86
- Low 7
Disclosures per year
- 2018: 1
- 2019: 8
- 2020: 12
- 2021: 5
- 2022: 16
- 2023: 31
- 2024: 18
- 2025: 6
- 2026: 61
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