Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2023-22884 is a critical-severity Command Injection (CWE-77) vulnerability in Apache Airflow. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).
Operationally, ranked in the top 4% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2023-22884 is a command injection vulnerability arising from improper neutralization of special elements in commands. It affects Apache Airflow versions prior to 2.5.1 and the Apache Airflow MySQL Provider versions prior to 4.0.0, as disclosed by the Apache Software Foundation.
An unauthenticated attacker with network access can exploit the flaw without user interaction to execute arbitrary commands on the affected system. Successful exploitation yields complete compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability, consistent with the CVSS 9.8 rating.
Advisories and patches referenced in the Apache mailing list threads and associated GitHub pull requests direct users to upgrade Airflow to 2.5.1 or later and the MySQL provider to 4.0.0 or later to remediate the issue.
The EPSS score has reached a peak of 0.7977 with a current value of 0.7629, indicating sustained exploitation interest following disclosure.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2023-0440
Vulnerability Data
Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection') vulnerability in Apache Software Foundation Apache Airflow, Apache Software Foundation Apache Airflow MySQL Provider.This issue affects Apache Airflow: before 2.5.1; Apache Airflow MySQL Provider: before 4.0.0.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
A.8.25 mandates secure SDLC practices including secure coding guidelines, security requirements, checkpoints, testing (scans/penetration), and developer training that reduce command injection defects, but leaves a minority slice (e.g. incomplete implementation of those practices, outsourced development without full assurance, or post-SDLC changes) where the weakness can still arise and be exploitable.
Application security requirements explicitly call for controls against injection flaws including command injection.
A.8.27 mandates security-by-design principles (e.g. distrust external input, secure session control, data validation/sanitization, least privilege) and design reviews that can stop command injection from being introduced, but this is only a minority slice of CWE-77 because the weakness can still arise in code that bypasses those principles, in non-reviewed components, or in runtime injection vectors the architecture review does not reach.
Secure coding standards require proper escaping and parameterization of commands, directly eliminating CWE-77.
Security testing in development catches command-injection vulnerabilities before release.
Hardening callouts derived
DISA STIG baselines are authored against specific weaknesses. Where this CVE cites a broad weakness class, the mapping is not asserted at that abstraction (owner ruling, 2026-09-25: grade only at Base and below), so no rule is shown here rather than a rule shown against the wrong grain.
- No fine-grained STIG row for CWE-77, a class-level weakness, and none of its children carries one either.