Apache Airflow Spark Provider Deserialization Vulnerability RCE
Deserialization of Untrusted Data, Inclusion of Functionality from Untrusted Control Sphere vulnerability in Apache Software Foundation Apache Airflow Spark Provider. When the Apache Spark provider is installed on an Airflow deployment, an Airflow user that is authorized to configure Spark hooks can effectively run arbitrary code on the Airflow node by pointing it at a malicious Spark server. Prior to version 4.1.3, this was not called out in the documentation explicitly, so it is possible that administrators provided authorizations to configure Spark hooks without taking this into account. We recommend administrators to review their configurations to make sure the authorization to configure Spark hooks is only provided to fully trusted users. To view the warning in the docs please visit https://airflow.apache.org/docs/apache-airflow-providers-apache-spark/4.1.3/connections/spark.html
Noroxi analysis
No Noroxi analysis for this record yet
We don't hand-write analysis for the hundreds of thousands of vulnerabilities in the database; that wouldn't be honest. For notable, high-impact vulnerabilities our team writes the mechanism, detection and remediation steps.
We use this product, ask for help- Published
- Aug 28, 2023
- Updated
- Jun 17, 2026
- EPSS
- 1.9% · 78th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-502
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Report tools
Action score
36
Monitor
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 35 / 40 · 8.8 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 1 / 30 · 1.9%
CISA SSVC decision
- Exploitation
- none
- Automatable
- no
- Technical impact
- total
Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.
Affected systems
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| apache | airflow spark provider | cpe:2.3:a:apache:airflow_spark_provider |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- apache airflow spark providerbefore 4.1.3
Versions reported by the vendor
Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (apache). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.
Apache Software Foundation Apache Airflow Spark Provider
- before 4.1.3affected · semver
Package-level exposure
OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| PyPI | apache-airflow-providers-apache-spark | before 4.1.3 | 4.1.3 |
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
| Product / package | Fixed version | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Apache Software Foundation Apache Airflow Spark Provider | 4.1.3 | Vendor (CNA) |
| PyPI:apache-airflow-providers-apache-spark | 4.1.3 | Package registry (OSV) |
Exploit status
No known public exploit
No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.
Research context
For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.
Timeline
From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.
No dated events beyond publication.
FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).
Patch and commit links
Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.
Credits
All researchersFinders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.
- happyhacking-kfinder
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
No nightly-computed relations.
Chain candidates
An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.
—
Bug bounty scope
No known public program.
Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).
Technical details
Attack conditions
- Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
- A low-privileged account is enough.
- No user action is required.
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- high · data can be read
- Integrity
- high · data or configuration can be modified
- Availability
- high · the service can be disrupted
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality impact
- High
- Integrity impact
- High
- Availability impact
- High
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-502 · Deserialization of Untrusted DataCVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
nvd-primary
Root cause
Data received over the network is deserialized into the language’s native object format without verifying its source. Code paths inside the object can be triggered during deserialization.
The bug in code
The whole CWE-502 classA representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.
Vulnerable
payload = sock.recv(65536)job = pickle.loads(payload)Fixed
payload = sock.recv(65536)if not hmac.compare_digest(sign(payload), header_sig): raise PermissionError("invalid signature")job = JobSchema.validate(json.loads(payload))Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
Attack patterns (CAPEC)
ATT&CK techniques
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Change log
- Fix✗ → ✓
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References
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.