dbcve.org
AirflowApplication · Apache

CVE-2023-50944

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-01-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.8.1 or later.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable Zero-click Patch available

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
Apache Airflow, versions before 2.8.1, have a vulnerability that allows an authenticated user to access the source code of a DAG to which they don't have access. This vulnerability is considered low since it requires an authenticated user to exploit it. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 2.8.1, which fixes this issue.

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
How this class of weakness works · CWE-862

The application checks who you are but not whether you're allowed to perform a given action, so any authenticated user can reach things meant for others. This is the classic “change the ID in the URL” bug. The fix is an authorization check on every request, evaluated against the acting user's permissions.

General guidance for the missing authorization class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

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:< 2.8.1

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
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

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 2.8.1 or later
Fixed in 2.8.1
Vendor patch github.com →
Recommended fix High confidence

2.8.1

  1. 1. Check current Airflow version by running `airflow version` or checking your deployed version
  2. 2. Review the Apache Airflow 2.8.1 release notes for any breaking changes or migration requirements
  3. 3. Upgrade Airflow to version 2.8.1 using your package manager (e.g., `pip install apache-airflow==2.8.1` or `pip install apache-airflow-upgrade` for existing installations)
  4. 4. After upgrading, verify that the authorization fix is applied by testing that users cannot access DAG source code they are not authorized to view
  5. 5. Ensure DAG files and configurations are still accessible and functioning correctly
Caveat Check 2.8.1 release notes for any breaking changes specific to your deployment

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

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $1,600. Get the upgrade done

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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-2023-50944 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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