CVE-2020-11978

CVE-2020-11978 is a high-severity vulnerability in Apache Airflow with a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.8. It is listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, confirming it has been exploited in the wild (added 2022-01-18). The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-78.

Key facts

Description

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.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-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/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.
How severe is CVE-2020-11978?
CVE-2020-11978 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.8, rated high severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2020-11978 being actively exploited?
Yes. CVE-2020-11978 is on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, added on 2022-01-18, which means active exploitation has been confirmed. It should be prioritised for remediation.
What products are affected by CVE-2020-11978?
CVE-2020-11978 affects Apache Airflow. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2020-11978?
Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Because this CVE is known to be actively exploited, treat remediation as urgent — CISA KEV typically sets a short remediation deadline.
Does CVE-2020-11978 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?
Yes. CVE-2020-11978 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2020-0032. It is also flagged as exploited in the EUVD (since 2022-01-18).
When was CVE-2020-11978 published?
CVE-2020-11978 was published on 2020-07-17 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (1)

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Threat intelligence

Threat-intel indicators referencing this CVE: