AirflowApplication · Apache
CVE-2020-11981
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedAn 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.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceA command injection vulnerability in Apache Airflow's CeleryExecutor allows attackers with direct access to the Celery message broker (Redis or RabbitMQ) to inject arbitrary OS commands through specially crafted messages, which are then executed by Celery workers.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data
AirflowApplication
<= 1.10.10CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check Apache Airflow versionRun command: airflow version or pip show apache-airflowAffected if Version is 1.10.10 or lower
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Verify CeleryExecutor is enabledInspect Airflow configuration file (airflow.cfg) and look for 'executor = CeleryExecutor' under [core] section, or check for CeleryExecutor in your DAG executor settingsAffected if CeleryExecutor is configured as the executor
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Identify the Celery broker in useCheck airflow.cfg under [celery] section for the 'broker_url' setting; it will show redis:// or amqp:// prefix indicating Redis or RabbitMQAffected if broker_url points to Redis (redis://) or RabbitMQ (amqp://)
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Confirm broker lacks authenticationExamine the broker_url in airflow.cfg: if it does not contain credentials (e.g., redis://:password@host or amqp://user:pass@host), authentication is not configuredAffected if Broker URL has no embedded credentials or password is blank/missing in configuration
You are affected if Airflow version is 1.10.10 or lower, CeleryExecutor is in use, and the Celery broker (Redis or RabbitMQ) is reachable without authentication.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scopedSecure the Celery broker with strong authentication (Redis password/RabbitMQ user credentials) and network access controls; alternatively, upgrade Airflow beyond version 1.10.10 to obtain patched code.
Airflow 1.10.11 or later (or migrate to Airflow 2.x)
- 1. Backup your current Airflow installation and database
- 2. Identify your Celery broker (Redis or RabbitMQ) and ensure it is not directly exposed to untrusted network segments
- 3. Upgrade Airflow to version 1.10.11 or later which contains the fix for this vulnerability
- 4. After upgrading, verify that your Celery workers start correctly and can execute tasks
- 5. Review Celery broker access controls to ensure only authorized services can connect
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Airflow
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-11981 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-11981 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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