AirflowApplication · Apache
CVE-2020-17511
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 · uneditedIn Airflow versions prior to 1.10.13, when creating a user using airflow CLI, the password gets logged in plain text in the Log table in Airflow Metadatase. Same happened when creating a Connection with a password field.
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 confidenceIn Apache Airflow versions prior to 1.10.13, sensitive credentials (user passwords and connection passwords) are logged in plain text to the Airflow Metadata database's Log table when created via the CLI or when configuring Connections. This exposes authentication credentials in logs accessible within the metadata database.
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
< 1.10.13CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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 installed Airflow versionRun 'airflow version' or query the airflow_version table in the metadata databaseAffected if The version is lower than 1.10.13 (e.g., 1.10.12, 1.10.11, etc.)
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Examine Log table for plain text passwordsConnect to the Airflow metadata database and query the Log table for patterns matching passwords or sensitive credential strings. Look for entries containing keywords like 'password', 'pwd', or connection strings with embedded secrets.Affected if Any Log records contain plain text passwords or connection passwords in the log_message or other text fields
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Identify connections created via CLIQuery the connection table in the metadata database and cross-reference with the Log table using timestamps to identify if connections were created or modified around the time of Log entries containing sensitive dataAffected if Connection records exist in the database and corresponding Log entries contain plain text credential data
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Check for user password logsQuery the Log table for entries related to user creation or password reset operations, particularly those initiated via CLI using commands like 'airflow users create'Affected if Log entries exist for user management operations performed via CLI containing visible password data
You are affected if your Airflow version is prior to 1.10.13 AND the Log table in your metadata database contains any plain text passwords or connection credentials.
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.
From vendor data1.10.13
Upgrade to Airflow 1.10.13 or later which prevents password fields from being logged. Additionally, audit the Log table for any exposed credentials and rotate affected passwords/credentials as a precautionary measure.
Fix this in Airflow
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 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 $3,488.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-17511 — 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-2020-17511 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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