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AirflowApplication · Apache

CVE-2022-38054

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-09-02
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2.3.3 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
In Apache Airflow versions 2.2.4 through 2.3.3, the `database` webserver session backend was susceptible to session fixation.

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 confidence

Apache Airflow versions 2.2.4 through 2.3.3 had a session fixation vulnerability in the database webserver session backend. An attacker could set or fix a user's session ID before authentication and then hijack the authenticated session using that same session ID.

MitigationUpgrade Airflow to a version newer than 2.3.3 (where the session fixation issue is fixed) or use an alternative session backend such as kerberos, LDAP, or secure cookie-based sessions.

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
Affected:>= 2.2.4, <= 2.3.3

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check installed Airflow version
    Run 'airflow version' or look in the airflow/__init__.py file to determine the installed version
    Affected if Version is 2.2.4, 2.3.0, 2.3.1, 2.3.2, or 2.3.3 (any version from 2.2.4 through 2.3.3 inclusive)
  2. Identify the session backend in use
    Check the Airflow webserver config ( airflow.cfg or webserver_config.py ) for the 'session_backend' setting under the [webserver] section. The database backend is configured as 'database' or is the default if not explicitly set.
    Affected if Session backend is set to 'database' or is not explicitly configured (defaults to database)
  3. Verify database session backend is enabled
    Confirm the webserver is actually connecting to the database backend for session storage. This is the default behavior when no alternative backend (kerberos, LDAP, secure cookie) is configured.
    Affected if No alternative session backend (kerberos, LDAP, or secure cookie) is configured, meaning the default database session backend is in use

You are affected if your installed Airflow version is between 2.2.4 and 2.3.3 inclusive AND you are using the default database session backend (or have not configured an alternative session backend).

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 2.3.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Airflow to a version newer than 2.3.3 (where the session fixation issue is fixed) or use an alternative session backend such as kerberos, LDAP, or secure cookie-based sessions.

Recommended fix High confidence

Airflow 2.4.0 or later (minimum 2.3.4)

  1. 1. Back up your Airflow database and configuration files before upgrading.
  2. 2. Review the Airflow upgrade guide at https://airflow.apache.org/docs/apache-airflow/stable/upgrading-to-2.html
  3. 3. Ensure your Python version is compatible with the target Airflow version (Airflow 2.4+ requires Python 3.7+)
  4. 4. Upgrade Airflow to version 2.4.0 or later using your package manager (e.g., pip install apache-airflow==2.4.0)
  5. 5. Run airflow db upgrade to apply any necessary database migrations
  6. 6. Restart the Airflow webserver, scheduler, and worker services
  7. 7. Verify that users can log in successfully and session behavior is correct
Caveat Airflow 2.4.0 introduced changes to the DAG parsing loop, deprecations, and may require adjustments to custom plugins or operators. Review the 2.4.0 changelog for breaking changes before upgrading.

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Airflow Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-38054 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data