Vulnerability record · CVE-2023-51702 · published 24 January 2024
CVE-2023-51702: Apache airflow cleartext storage of sensitive data vulnerability
Apache · Airflow
Since version 5.2.0, when using deferrable mode with the path of a Kubernetes configuration file for authentication, the Airflow worker serializes this configuration file as a dictionary and sends it to the triggerer by storing it in metadata without any encryption. Additionally, if used with an Airflow version between 2.3.0 and 2.6.0, the configuration dictionary will be logged as plain text in the triggerer service without masking. This allows anyone with access to the metadata or triggerer log to obtain the configuration file and use it to access the Kubernetes cluster. This behavior was changed in version 7.0.0, which stopped serializing the file contents and started providing the file path instead to read the contents into the trigger. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 7.0.0, which fixes this issue.
Description
Since version 5.2.0, when using deferrable mode with the path of a Kubernetes configuration file for authentication, the Airflow worker serializes this configuration file as a dictionary and sends it to the triggerer by storing it in metadata without any encryption. Additionally, if used with an Airflow version between 2.3.0 and 2.6.0, the configuration dictionary will be logged as plain text in the triggerer service without masking. This allows anyone with access to the metadata or triggerer log to obtain the configuration file and use it to access the Kubernetes cluster. This behavior was changed in version 7.0.0, which stopped serializing the file contents and started providing the file path instead to read the contents into the trigger. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 7.0.0, which fixes this issue.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Affected products
2 vulnerable configurations from NVD's CPE data, grouped by vendor and product.
References
| Link | Tags |
|---|---|
| http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/01/24/3 | Mailing ListThird Party Advisory |
| https://github.com/apache/airflow/pull/29498 | Issue TrackingPatch |
| https://github.com/apache/airflow/pull/30110 | Patch |
| https://github.com/apache/airflow/pull/36492 | Issue TrackingPatch |
| https://lists.apache.org/thread/89x3q6lz5pykrkr1fkr04k4rfn9pvnv9 | Mailing ListVendor Advisory |
| http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/01/24/3 | Mailing ListThird Party Advisory |
| https://github.com/apache/airflow/pull/29498 | Issue TrackingPatch |
| https://github.com/apache/airflow/pull/30110 | Patch |
| https://github.com/apache/airflow/pull/36492 | Issue TrackingPatch |
| https://lists.apache.org/thread/89x3q6lz5pykrkr1fkr04k4rfn9pvnv9 | Mailing ListVendor Advisory |
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Related vulnerabilities
Same products first, then exploited flaws of the same weakness class.
Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database (record CVE-2023-51702), CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS (scores of 2026-09-27). This page is refreshed as NVD updates the record.
