High severity · published Jun 1, 2026
CVE-2026-45360
Apache Airflow: Arbitrary import in custom deadline-reference deserialization
7.3
CVSS
0.7%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
Apache Airflow's scheduler-side deadline-reference decoder (`SerializedCustomReference.deserialize_reference`) imported and dispatched arbitrary class paths drawn from DAG-author-controlled serialized state without an allowlist or plugin-registry gate. A DAG author whose code reaches the scheduler — the default on single-host deployments where the DAG bundle is importable from the scheduler process — could embed a custom `DeadlineReference` whose serialized form named an attacker-controlled module path, causing the scheduler to `import_string(...)` and instantiate that class with a live SQLAlchemy session attached. Affects deployments where DAG-author code is less trusted than the scheduler process. Users are advised to upgrade to `apache-airflow` 3.2.2 or later.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
Low
Scope
Unchanged
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.7% · higher than 52% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
AA
Apache Airflow · Apache Software Foundation
before 3.2.2 · source: vendor
AI
Airflow · Apache
before 3.2.2 · source: NVD
References
NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-45360
CVE.org
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-45360
Issue Tracking
https://github.com/apache/airflow/pull/66737
Mailing List
https://lists.apache.org/thread/q227dghjwgfz8xsxrf2pwpz4wk43zm83
Mailing List
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/05/31/12
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