Security Resilience

CVE-2023-40273

Auth Bypass in Apache Airflow ≤ 2.7.0

Auth Bypass
Published
23 August 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.0
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.018 79th percentile
Risk Priority 62 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2023-40273 is a high-severity Session Fixation (CWE-384) vulnerability in Apache Airflow. Its CVSS base score is 8.0 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Junk Data (T1001.001); ranked in the top 21% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A07:2025 Authentication Failures

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

The session fixation vulnerability allowed the authenticated user to continue accessing Airflow webserver even after the password of the user has been reset by the admin - up until the expiry of the session of the user. Other than manually…

more

cleaning the session database (for database session backend), or changing the secure_key and restarting the webserver, there were no mechanisms to force-logout the user (and all other users with that). With this fix implemented, when using the database session backend, the existing sessions of the user are invalidated when the password of the user is reset. When using the securecookie session backend, the sessions are NOT invalidated and still require changing the secure key and restarting the webserver (and logging out all other users), but the user resetting the password is informed about it with a flash message warning displayed in the UI. Documentation is also updated explaining this behaviour. Users of Apache Airflow are advised to upgrade to version 2.7.0 or newer to mitigate the risk associated with this vulnerability.

CWE(s)
CWE-384

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1001.001 Junk Data Command And Control
Adversaries may add junk data to protocols used for command and control to make detection more difficult.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.002 Security Account Manager Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to extract credential material from the Security Account Manager (SAM) database either through in-memory techniques or through the Windows Registry where the SAM database is stored.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.004 LSA Secrets Credential Access
Adversaries with SYSTEM access to a host may attempt to access Local Security Authority (LSA) secrets, which can contain a variety of different credential materials, such as credentials for service accounts.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.005 Cached Domain Credentials Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access cached domain credentials used to allow authentication to occur in the event a domain controller is unavailable.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.007 Proc Filesystem Credential Access
Adversaries may gather credentials from the proc filesystem or `/proc`.
attack.mitre.org →
T1021.005 VNC Lateral Movement
Adversaries may use [Valid Accounts](https://attack.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-57735Same product: Apache Airflow
CVE-2026-86473Same product: Apache Airflow
CVE-2026-48726Same product: Apache Airflow
CVE-2026-41017Same product: Apache Airflow
CVE-2023-29247Same product: Apache Airflow
CVE-2024-39863Same product: Apache Airflow
CVE-2024-41937Same product: Apache Airflow
CVE-2023-47265Same product: Apache Airflow
CVE-2024-32077Same product: Apache Airflow
CVE-2026-45192Same product: Apache Airflow

Affected Assets

apache
airflow
≤ 2.7.0

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V4.4.4
  • V7.6.2

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

AC-12 Session Termination
addresses: CWE-384

Session termination after a set interval shortens the usable lifetime of a fixed session identifier, making successful exploitation of session fixation more difficult.

IA-11 Re-authentication
addresses: CWE-384

Re-authentication typically forces issuance of a new session, limiting the window for exploitation of a previously fixed session identifier.

SC-23 Session Authenticity
addresses: CWE-384

Enforces proper session ID generation and binding, preventing fixation of a known session token.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.AA-01 partial match
blocks

Managing identities and credentials includes handling session identifiers as temporary credentials that must be invalidated on re-authentication.

PR.AA-03 partial match
blocks

Proper authentication processes must invalidate prior session identifiers to prevent fixation attacks.

PR.AA-04 partial match
blocks

Protecting and verifying identity assertions encompasses secure handling and regeneration of session tokens.

PR.PS-01 partial match
blocks

Configuration baselines can enforce session regeneration and timeout settings that block fixation.

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.5.14 Information transfer partial match
removes
A.5.15 Access control partial match
removes
A.5.16 Identity management partial match
removes
A.5.17 Authentication information partial match
removes
A.5.18 Access rights partial match
removes
A.8.10 Information deletion partial match
removes

References