Cyber Resilience

CVE-2024-56373

RCE in Apache Airflow ≤ 2.11.1

Published
24 February 2026
Modified
24 February 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.4
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.010 61th percentile
Risk Priority 58 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2024-56373 is a high-severity Code Injection (CWE-94) vulnerability in Apache Airflow. Its CVSS base score is 8.4 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Command and Scripting Interpreter (T1059); ranked in the top 39% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

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-2024-56373 is a code injection vulnerability (CWE-94) affecting Apache Airflow 2, specifically in the web-server component. A DAG Author with existing high-level permissions can manipulate the Airflow database to inject arbitrary code that executes in the web-server context when another user views historical task information via the log template history functionality. This flaw, scored at CVSS 8.4 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H), enables server-side remote code execution beyond the attacker's normal privileges.

The attack requires a DAG Author (high-privilege user) to first alter the database entries related to log template history. Exploitation occurs when any user with access to the web interface views the affected historical task logs, triggering the injected code in the web-server process. Successful exploitation grants the attacker high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact within the elevated scope of the web-server.

Apache Airflow advisories recommend disabling the log template history functionality, which is now off by default in version 2.11.1. Users wishing to retain this feature should upgrade to Airflow 3. Alternatively, administrators can manually rename historical log files generated before the last template change to view them without risk. Relevant patches and discussions are detailed in the associated GitHub pull request and security mailing lists.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

DAG Author (who already has quite a lot of permissions) could manipulate database of Airflow 2 in the way to execute arbitrary code in the web-server context, which they should normally not be able to do, leading to potentially remote…

more

code execution in the context of web-server (server-side) as a result of a user viewing historical task information. The functionality responsible for that (log template history) has been disabled by default in 2.11.1 and users should upgrade to Airflow 3 if they want to continue to use log template history. They can also manually modify historical log file names if they want to see historical logs that were generated before the last log template change.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter Execution
Adversaries may abuse command and script interpreters to execute commands, scripts, or binaries.
T1059.001 PowerShell Execution
Adversaries may abuse PowerShell commands and scripts for execution.
T1059.002 AppleScript Execution
Adversaries may abuse AppleScript for execution.
T1059.004 Unix Shell Execution
Adversaries may abuse Unix shell commands and scripts for execution.
T1059.005 Visual Basic Execution
Adversaries may abuse Visual Basic (VB) for execution.
T1059.006 Python Execution
Adversaries may abuse Python commands and scripts for execution.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2022-40127Same product: Apache Airflow
CVE-2025-54550Same product: Apache Airflow
CVE-2024-39877Same product: Apache Airflow
CVE-2020-11978Same product: Apache Airflow
CVE-2022-24288Same product: Apache Airflow
CVE-2023-22888Same product: Apache Airflow
CVE-2021-38540Same product: Apache Airflow
CVE-2023-22887Same product: Apache Airflow
CVE-2023-29247Same product: Apache Airflow
CVE-2020-13927Same product: Apache Airflow

Affected Assets

apache
airflow
≤ 2.11.1

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)
  • V1.3.1

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Developer testing and evaluation finds code paths that accept and execute externally influenced strings.

Input validation directly stops untrusted data from being used to construct executable code without neutralization.

Least privilege limits the damage an injected code fragment can perform once executed.

Requiring documented secure development standards and tools enforces use of safe code-generation APIs and escaping.

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.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

PR.PS-06's SDLC practices directly target injection flaws via secure coding and testing (mostly), yet as a single broad outcome it leaves many code-generation specifics unaddressed (partial).

PR.DS-10 none match
prevents

PR.DS-10 protects runtime data confidentiality/integrity but has no bearing on neutralizing externally influenced input during code generation, so neither direction shows any preventive effect.

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.

prevents

Banning unapproved code samples and unauthenticated web services, combined with secure-coding standards and SAST, prevents the dynamic generation or inclusion of attacker-supplied code.

none

Controls that restrict unauthorized or malicious code from being introduced via external networks or removable media limit opportunities for an attacker to inject and execute arbitrary code.

References