CVE-2026-49298
Apache Airflow: JWT Token Exposure in KubernetesExecutor Command-Line Arguments
Description
A bug in Apache Airflow's KubernetesExecutor caused JWT tokens used by worker pods to authenticate against the Execution API to be passed to the worker container as command-line arguments visible in the pod spec. An authenticated UI/API user with Kubernetes read-only access to the cluster (e.g. `pods/get` in the Airflow namespace) could harvest the JWT from `kubectl describe pod` output and then call state-mutating Execution API endpoints — triggering Dag runs, clearing runs, reading or writing Variables / Connections / XComs — as if they were a running task. Affects deployments using the `KubernetesExecutor`. Users are advised to upgrade to `apache-airflow` 3.2.2 or later. This is the airflow-core half of the same vulnerability addressed by [CVE-2026-27173](https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-27173), which shipped the apache-airflow-providers-cncf-kubernetes side of the fix. Deployments that already upgraded `apache-airflow-providers-cncf-kubernetes` to 10.17.0 or later per the CVE-2026-27173 advisory should additionally upgrade `apache-airflow` to 3.2.2 or later to close the core-side surface — the two fixes are complementary, not duplicates.
INFO
Published Date :
June 1, 2026, 9:16 a.m.
Last Modified :
July 21, 2026, 7:10 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
Yes !
Source :
[email protected]
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS | 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 | |||||
| CVSS 3.1 | HIGH | 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 |
Solution
- Upgrade Apache Airflow to version 3.2.2 or later.
- Ensure apache-airflow-providers-cncf-kubernetes is updated.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2026-49298.
| URL | Resource |
|---|---|
| https://github.com/apache/airflow/pull/60108 | Issue Tracking Patch |
| https://lists.apache.org/thread/wo09vrks8189dzsot39rvrx3vnx102tt | Mailing List Vendor Advisory |
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-49298 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-49298
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2026-49298 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-49298 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
-
CVE Translated by [email protected]
Jul. 21, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Translation Title: Apache Airflow de Apache Software Foundation, Description: Un error en el KubernetesExecutor de Apache Airflow causó que los tokens JWT utilizados por los pods de trabajador para autenticarse contra la API de Ejecución se pasaran al contenedor de trabajador como argumentos de línea de comandos visibles en la especificación del pod. Un usuario autenticado de UI/API con acceso de solo lectura a Kubernetes en el clúster (por ejemplo, 'pods/get' en el espacio de nombres de Airflow) podría recolectar el JWT de la salida de 'kubectl describe pod' y luego llamar a los puntos finales de la API de Ejecución que mutan el estado - activando ejecuciones de Dag, borrando ejecuciones, leyendo o escribiendo Variables / Conexiones / XComs - como si fueran una tarea en ejecución. Afecta a las implementaciones que utilizan el 'KubernetesExecutor'. Se aconseja a los usuarios que actualicen a 'apache-airflow' 3.2.2 o posterior. Esta es la mitad de airflow-core de la misma vulnerabilidad abordada por [CVE-2026-27173](https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-27173), que envió el lado de apache-airflow-providers-cncf-kubernetes de la solución. Las implementaciones que ya actualizaron 'apache-airflow-providers-cncf-kubernetes' a 10.17.0 o posterior según el aviso de CVE-2026-27173 deberían actualizar adicionalmente 'apache-airflow' a 3.2.2 o posterior para cerrar la superficie del lado del núcleo - las dos soluciones son complementarias, no duplicadas. -
CVE Modified by [email protected]
Jun. 17, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Affected [{'vendor': 'Apache Software Foundation', 'product': 'Apache Airflow', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '0', 'lessThan': '3.2.2', 'versionType': 'semver'}], 'packageName': 'apache-airflow', 'collectionURL': 'https://pypi.python.org', 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}] -
CVE Modified by 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
Jun. 17, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added SSVC {'id': 'CVE-2026-49298', 'role': 'CISA Coordinator', 'options': [{'exploitation': 'none'}, {'automatable': 'no'}, {'technicalImpact': 'total'}], 'version': '2.0.3', 'timestamp': '2026-06-02T15:56:22.010586Z'} -
Initial Analysis by [email protected]
Jun. 03, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added CPE Configuration OR *cpe:2.3:a:apache:airflow:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions up to (excluding) 3.2.2 Added Reference Type Apache Software Foundation: https://github.com/apache/airflow/pull/60108 Types: Issue Tracking, Patch Added Reference Type Apache Software Foundation: https://lists.apache.org/thread/wo09vrks8189dzsot39rvrx3vnx102tt Types: Mailing List, Vendor Advisory -
CVE Modified by 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
Jun. 02, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H -
New CVE Received by [email protected]
Jun. 01, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Description A bug in Apache Airflow's KubernetesExecutor caused JWT tokens used by worker pods to authenticate against the Execution API to be passed to the worker container as command-line arguments visible in the pod spec. An authenticated UI/API user with Kubernetes read-only access to the cluster (e.g. `pods/get` in the Airflow namespace) could harvest the JWT from `kubectl describe pod` output and then call state-mutating Execution API endpoints — triggering Dag runs, clearing runs, reading or writing Variables / Connections / XComs — as if they were a running task. Affects deployments using the `KubernetesExecutor`. Users are advised to upgrade to `apache-airflow` 3.2.2 or later. This is the airflow-core half of the same vulnerability addressed by [CVE-2026-27173](https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-27173), which shipped the apache-airflow-providers-cncf-kubernetes side of the fix. Deployments that already upgraded `apache-airflow-providers-cncf-kubernetes` to 10.17.0 or later per the CVE-2026-27173 advisory should additionally upgrade `apache-airflow` to 3.2.2 or later to close the core-side surface — the two fixes are complementary, not duplicates. Added CWE CWE-538 Added Reference https://github.com/apache/airflow/pull/60108 Added Reference https://lists.apache.org/thread/wo09vrks8189dzsot39rvrx3vnx102tt