Airflow is widely used; potential RCE via trigger conf could disrupt pipelines across orgs.
CVE-2026-42252
Authenticated trigger can cause shell injection via DAG conf in Airflow docs
Is CVE-2026-42252 being exploited?
Not confirmed. CVE-2026-42252 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. EPSS currently estimates a 0.38% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How severe is CVE-2026-42252?
CVE-2026-42252 is rated Critical with a CVSS score of 9.1. 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-2026-42252?
Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2026-42252. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.
What does CVE-2026-42252 affect?
CVE-2026-42252 affects Apache Airflow. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
What should I do about CVE-2026-42252?
Upgrade to Airflow 3.2.2+; review trigger permissions
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
RCE on worker via shell metachar injection in trigger conf; authenticated trigger required; could disrupt pipelines
Immediate action required
- affected>= 3.0.0 and < 3.2.2
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.