Description
Apache Airflow's scheduler fully deserializes XCom values written by task code while evaluating task dependencies. A Dag author, who controls what a task writes to XCom, therefore controls data that is deserialized inside the scheduler process - a context the Airflow security model reserves for code installed by the Deployment Manager, above the worker-scoped execution capability a Dag author is documented to have. Deployments that treat Dag authors as less trusted than Deployment Managers are affected, and the scheduler must be evaluating a task dependency that reads a task-written XCom value. Users of apache-airflow are recommended to upgrade to version 3.4.0 or later, which restricts dependency evaluation to primitive XCom values.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apache Software Foundation | Apache Airflow | < 3.4.0 | 3.4.0 |
Public exploits
Exploit or proof-of-concept code for this vulnerability is publicly available, which lowers the bar for attackers. Treat it as a reason to patch sooner.
GitHub 1 repository
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googlesky/CVE-2026-86829 ★ 0 · Nov 10, 2026
Apache Airflow < 3.4.0: scheduler-side deserialization of task-controlled XCom (CVE-2026-86829) leading to code execution in the scheduler process. PoC, fixed-version control, and a triggerer classpa…
Sources: PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB — updated daily. Only links are listed; no exploit code is hosted here.
Advisories 1
- WID-SEC-2026-4401 Apache Airflow: Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Nov 11, 2026