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Mallory
High

Apache Airflow BashOperator shell injection via unsafe dag_run.conf documentation example

IdentifiersCVE-2026-30898CWE-78

CVE-2026-30898 affects Apache Airflow versions before 3.2.0. The issue is not described as an inherent flaw in BashOperator itself, but as unsafe official documentation guidance showing an example of passing dag_run.conf into BashOperator in a manner that could place unsanitized user-controlled input into a shell command. If operators copied this example into their own DAGs, attacker-controlled values from dag_run.conf could be interpreted by the shell, resulting in command injection on the Airflow worker. The vulnerable pattern therefore arises when user input from the Airflow UI is incorporated into a BashOperator command without proper sanitization or safe parameter handling.

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ANALYST BRIEF

Impact, mitigation & remediation

What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.

Impact

What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.

Successful exploitation can allow an Airflow UI user to escalate privileges by turning control over dag_run.conf input into shell command execution on an Airflow worker. Depending on the worker's runtime privileges and environment, this can lead to arbitrary command execution, access to data available to the worker, modification of task behavior, and potential follow-on compromise of connected systems or credentials accessible from the worker context.

Mitigation

If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.

Audit DAGs that use BashOperator and accept values from dag_run.conf or other user-controlled inputs. Remove direct shell interpolation of those values, apply strict input validation and sanitization where unavoidable, and prefer safer argument handling patterns that do not invoke a shell with attacker-controlled content. Restrict which users can supply dag_run.conf values through the UI until affected DAGs are reviewed and corrected.

Remediation

Patch, then assume compromise.

Upgrade Apache Airflow to version 3.2.0 or later. In addition, review existing DAGs for any code copied or adapted from the unsafe BashOperator documentation example, especially patterns that interpolate dag_run.conf directly into shell commands. Refactor such DAGs to avoid passing unsanitized user input into shell execution contexts.
PUBLIC EXPLOITS

Exploits

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VALID 0 / 0 TOTALView more in app

No public exploit code observed for this vulnerability.

EXPOSURE SURFACE

Affected products & vendors

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VendorProductType
Apache Software FoundationAirflowapplication

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ACTIVITY FEED

Recent activity

5 sources tracked across advisories and community write-ups. News coverage will land here when it surfaces.

No news coverage yet. Advisories and community discussion only.

What this page doesn’t show

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Exposure mapping

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Threat actor evidence

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Associated malware

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Detection signatures

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Vendor-by-vendor mapping

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Social activity5

Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.