CVE-2020-11978Known exploitationPublic exploitNetwork attack vectorHinoki check available

Authenticated command execution via unescaped DAG message

Published Jul 16, 2020 · Updated Oct 21, 2025

Command injection in Apache Airflow 1.10.10 and earlier allows remote authenticated users to execute commands via an example DAG. The bash_task in example_trigger_target_dag.py interpolates dag_run.conf.message directly into its Bash command without escaping, allowing shell syntax to replace the intended echo operation. Exploitation requires the example DAG to be loaded and executed, runs with the worker or scheduler account's privileges, and also permits unauthenticated access when the experimental API's authentication is disabled.

CVSS severity8.8
High
EPSS probability99.19%
Next 30 days · Nov 1, 2026
Known exploitationReported
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkAvailable
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Summary

What happened

Command injection in Apache Airflow 1.10.10 and earlier allows remote authenticated users to execute commands via an example DAG. The bash_task in example_trigger_target_dag.py interpolates dag_run.conf.message directly into its Bash command without escaping, allowing shell syntax to replace the intended echo operation. Exploitation requires the example DAG to be loaded and executed, runs with the worker or scheduler account's privileges, and also permits unauthenticated access when the experimental API's authentication is disabled.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-11978
Published
Jul 16, 2020
Updated
Oct 21, 2025
Vendor
The Apache Software Foundation
Product
Apache Airflow
Classifications
CWE-77, CWE-78, T1059.004
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jul 16, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Oct 21, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=1.10.10 and below

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Apache Software Foundation · Apache Airflowversion=1.10.10 and below

Published CVSS scores

8.8CISA ADPCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
8.7GitHub Advisory DatabaseCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:A
8.8Rapid7CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.

Daily unique IPsShadowserver observations through Sep 28, 2026. Gaps indicate unavailable data.
Sep 22, 2026Sep 28, 2026
View daily counts
Reporting dayUnique IPs
Sep 22, 20261
Sep 23, 20262
Sep 24, 20269
Sep 25, 20263
Sep 26, 20262
Sep 27, 20262
Sep 28, 20262
Latest reporting daySep 28, 2026
Latest daily unique IPs2
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationReported
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-77Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection')
CWE-78Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')
T1059.004Unix Shell

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Reported exploitation

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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