Session takeover via root-scoped authentication cookie
Published Mar 17, 2026 · Updated Mar 17, 2026
Session token exposure in Apache Airflow 3.0.0 through 3.1.7 allows remote attackers to hijack sessions through co-hosted applications. The login flow sets the _token cookie Path attribute to / instead of deriving the configured webserver or API base_url subpath, so browsers send the token to every application on the domain. Exploitation requires an Airflow deployment below the domain root and an attacker-controlled or compromised co-hosted application; captured tokens grant the victim's full Airflow session.
Summary
What happened
Session token exposure in Apache Airflow 3.0.0 through 3.1.7 allows remote attackers to hijack sessions through co-hosted applications. The login flow sets the _token cookie Path attribute to / instead of deriving the configured webserver or API base_url subpath, so browsers send the token to every application on the domain. Exploitation requires an Airflow deployment below the domain root and an attacker-controlled or compromised co-hosted application; captured tokens grant the victim's full Airflow session.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-28779
- Published
- Mar 17, 2026
- Updated
- Mar 17, 2026
- Vendor
- The Apache Software Foundation
- Product
- Apache Airflow
- Classifications
- CWE-668, T1539
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Mar 17, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Mar 17, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=3.0.0 <3.1.8
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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