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Vulnerabilities

Vulnerability · CVE-2020-11978

Apache Airflow Command Injection

Published Jul 16, 2020 · catalog updated Jun 16, 2026 · Apache Airflow

Patch now

CVE-2020-11978 is in the CISA known-exploited catalog, due Jul 18, 2022. Confirm Apache Airflow against the vendor advisory and apply that fix. The CVSS score does not change the priority.

Gaps on this record

  • No version range is stored. A customer cannot check an installed version against this record.
Severity
High8.8
Known exploitation
CISA KEV and VulnCheck KEV
EPSS
99.19%
Remediation
Remediation guidance
Affected products
cpe apache/airflow · vendor Apache Airflow

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.

Are you affected?

Enter the version you run. The result uses only the ranges stored on this record.

The check returns affected, not affected, or incomplete. It does not guess a version that is missing from the record.

  • cpe apache/airflowversion unspecified
  • vendor Apache Airflowversion unspecified

How to fix CVE-2020-11978

What to do

Three questions, each answered from this record only. Confirm the vendor advisory before you patch.

Should you patch?

CVE-2020-11978 is in the CISA known-exploited catalog, due Jul 18, 2022. Confirm Apache Airflow against the vendor advisory and apply that fix. The CVSS score does not change the priority.

Which versions are affected?

Affected version ranges are not on this record. Apply updates per vendor instructions.

What should an analyst verify?

CWE-78: OS Command Injection. EPSS 99.19%. The CISA KEV listing is the exploitation evidence. A public exploit reference is linked in Sources. That is not the same as confirmed exploitation. Use the source links for the original advisory.

Code

The project this record applies to. Exploit listings stay in References.

No public source repository is identified for this product.

Timeline

Detection, updates, and resolution for this record.

  1. Jul 16, 2020 · Catalog

    Detected

    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 co

  2. Jan 18, 2022 · CISA KEV

    Known exploited

    Apply updates per vendor instructions.

  3. Jul 18, 2022 · CISA KEV

    Remediation due

    Apply updates per vendor instructions.

  4. Jun 16, 2026 · Catalog

    Updated

    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 co

Sources

  • CISA KEVConfirmed exploitationCVE-2020-11978

    A remote code/command injection vulnerability was discovered in one of the example DAGs shipped with Airflow.

    cisa.gov
  • CVE.orgVulnerability recordCVE-2020-11978

    Official CVE identifier

    cve.org
  • FIRST EPSSExploitation probabilityCVE-2020-11978

    30-day exploitation probability 99.2%

    first.org
  • Exploit DatabasePublic exploit reference49927

    Public archive entry. The exploit body is not stored here.

    exploit-db.com
  • Metasploit ModulesPublic exploit moduleexploit_linux/http/apache_airflow_dag_rce

    Public module reference (excellent). Module source is not copied into this catalog.

    rapid7.com
  • NIST NVDVulnerability recordCVE-2020-11978

    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/sche

    nvd.nist.gov
  • Packet Storm SecurityCited referencehttp://packetstormsecurity.com/files/162908/Apache-Airflow-1.10.10-Remote-Code-Execution.html

    Packet Storm link already published on the finding.

    packetstormsecurity.com
  • Packet Storm SecurityCited referencehttp://packetstormsecurity.com/files/174764/Apache-Airflow-1.10.10-Remote-Code-Execution.html

    Packet Storm link already published on the finding.

    packetstormsecurity.com
  • VulnCheck KEVConfirmed exploitationCVE-2020-11978

    A remote code/command injection vulnerability was discovered in one of the example DAGs shipped with Airflow.

    vulncheck.com

References

Freshness

Last verified in this catalog Oct 17, 2026. Significant claims (KEV, EPSS, CVSS, affected ranges) come from the source rows above — open the original publisher for the authoritative advisory.