AirflowApplication · Apache
CVE-2020-17515
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 · uneditedThe "origin" parameter passed to some of the endpoints like '/trigger' was vulnerable to XSS exploit. This issue affects Apache Airflow versions prior to 1.10.13. This is same as CVE-2020-13944 but the implemented fix in Airflow 1.10.13 did not fix the issue completely.
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 confidenceThe 'origin' parameter in Airflow's /trigger endpoint (and similar endpoints) does not properly sanitize user input, allowing injection of malicious JavaScript that executes in victims' browsers. This is a bypass of CVE-2020-13944, indicating the fix in version 1.10.13 was incomplete and the vulnerable code path was not fully addressed.
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
< 1.10.15>= 2.0.0, < 2.0.2CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/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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Identify installed Airflow versionRun 'airflow version' or check the Airflow package via 'pip show apache-airflow'Affected if Version is less than 1.10.15, or greater than or equal to 2.0.0 but less than 2.0.2
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Verify the /trigger endpoint existsCheck if Airflow webserver is running and the /trigger endpoint is accessible by reviewing the Airflow source code or webserver routesAffected if The /trigger endpoint is present and exposed
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Determine if origin parameter is used without encodingInspect the webserver code handling the /trigger request, specifically the view or template that renders the 'origin' parameter value back to the userAffected if The 'origin' parameter is reflected in HTTP responses without HTML escaping or sanitization
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Check webserver configuration for external accessReview webserver configuration (airflow.cfg or environment variables) to determine if the Airflow web UI is exposed to untrusted usersAffected if The web UI is accessible to untrusted/browsing users without additional authentication or network isolation
You are affected if your Airflow version falls within the vulnerable ranges (< 1.10.15 or >= 2.0.0, < 2.0.2) AND the /trigger endpoint is accessible to users who can supply the 'origin' parameter that gets reflected without sanitization.
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 data1.10.152.0.2
Upgrade to Apache Airflow 1.10.13 or later (or the latest stable version) that fully addresses this bypass. If upgrading is not immediately feasible, implement output encoding/HTML escaping on the 'origin' parameter before reflecting it in HTTP responses.
Fix this in Airflow
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-17515 — 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-2020-17515 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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