How severe is CVE-2020-11981?

CVE-2020-11981 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8, rated critical severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2020-11981 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 37% (98th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2020-11981?

CVE-2020-11981 affects Apache Airflow. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.

How do I fix CVE-2020-11981?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its critical severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.

When was CVE-2020-11981 published?

CVE-2020-11981 was published on 2020-07-17 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2020-11981

CVE-2020-11981 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Apache Airflow with a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score of 37% places it in the 98th percentile, indicating an elevated likelihood of exploitation. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-78.

Key facts

Severity: Critical (CVSS 3.x base score 9.8)
CVSS v2: 7.5
EPSS exploit prediction: 37% (98th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-78
Affected product: Apache Airflow
Published: 2020-07-17
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

An issue was found in Apache Airflow versions 1.10.10 and below. When using CeleryExecutor, if an attacker can connect to the broker (Redis, RabbitMQ) directly, it is possible to inject commands, resulting in the celery worker running arbitrary commands.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2020-11981?: An issue was found in Apache Airflow versions 1.10.10 and below. When using CeleryExecutor, if an attacker can connect to the broker (Redis, RabbitMQ) directly, it is possible to inject commands, resulting in the celery worker running arbitrary commands.
How severe is CVE-2020-11981?: CVE-2020-11981 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8, rated critical severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2020-11981 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 37% (98th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2020-11981?: CVE-2020-11981 affects Apache Airflow. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2020-11981?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its critical severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2020-11981 published?: CVE-2020-11981 was published on 2020-07-17 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r7255cf0be3566f23a768e2a04b40fb09e52fcd1872695428ba9afe91%40%3Cusers.airflow.apache.org%3E

Affected products (1)

cpe:2.3:a:apache:airflow:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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Threat intelligence

Threat-intel indicators referencing this CVE:

8.211.195.173 (ipv4-addr)