Affects widely used enterprise workflow engine (Apache Airflow); high-severity deserialization allowing server compromise; requires org-wide patching for data pipelines.
CVE-2026-111421
Airflow Task Execution API unsafe XCom deserialization allows attacker-controlled object instantiation.
Is CVE-2026-111421 being exploited?
Not confirmed. CVE-2026-111421 does not appear in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which records only exploitation that has been observed and reported publicly. That is evidence of absence of a report, not evidence the flaw is unattacked.
How severe is CVE-2026-111421?
CVE-2026-111421 is rated High with a CVSS score of 8.8. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.
Is there a patch for CVE-2026-111421?
Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2026-111421. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.
What does CVE-2026-111421 affect?
CVE-2026-111421 affects Apache Airflow < 3.4.0, Airflow 3.3.1 and earlier, Task Execution API, Deployments with XCom deserialization enabled. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
What should I do about CVE-2026-111421?
Upgrade to Apache Airflow 3.4.0+ and disable XCom deserialization until patched.
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
Authenticated DAG authors can craft XComs that trigger unsafe deserialization in the Task Execution API, enabling remote code execution or server compromise.
Immediate action required
- affected>= 3.0.0 and < 3.4.0
As published in the CVE Program record. A version outside these ranges is not a statement that it is unaffected — vendors sometimes understate a range, and distribution-backported builds carry upstream numbers that do not reflect what was patched into them.
cisa ssvc
- exploitation
- none
- automatable
- no
- technical impact
- total
Assessed by CISA 9 Nov 2026 (SSVC 2.0.3).
timeline
- 9 Nov 2026Published
- 9 Nov 2026CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation none · same day later
- 9 Nov 2026CVE record last updated · same day later
- 10 Nov 2026Analysed by vulneraibility.com · 1 day later
- Advisorylists.apache.org /thread.html/pwdwx354tv0x3m8wzfhh59r6wyztj2lk
- Patchgithub.com /apache/airflow/pull/72718
- Patchgithub.com /apache/airflow/pull/74829
- Linkcve.org /CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-59242
sources
- CVE List (CVE.org): description, affected versions, references; CVE Terms of Use
- NVD: CVSS and CPE data
- CISA Vulnrichment (ADP): SSVC decision points
- FIRST EPSS: exploit probability and percentile
- Summary, impact and triage tags: written by our AI analysis pipeline from the sources above. Check them against the sources.