CVE-2023-42663 in Airflow
Summary
by MITRE • 10/25/2023
Apache Airflow, versions before 2.7.2, has a vulnerability that allows an authorized user who has access to read specific DAGs only, to read information about task instances in other DAGs. Users of Apache Airflow are advised to upgrade to version 2.7.2 or newer to mitigate the risk associated with this vulnerability.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/02/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-42663 represents a critical access control flaw within Apache Airflow that undermines the principle of least privilege and data isolation. This issue affects versions prior to 2.7.2 and exposes a significant gap in the authorization mechanisms that should prevent users from accessing information beyond their designated permissions. The flaw specifically targets the task instance metadata retrieval functionality within the Airflow web interface and API endpoints, creating a scenario where users with read access to certain DAGs can potentially enumerate and extract sensitive information about task executions in other DAGs they should not have access to.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and authorization checks within the task instance listing and retrieval functions. When users request information about task instances, the system fails to properly verify whether the requesting user has appropriate permissions to access the specific DAG associated with those task instances. This authorization bypass allows malicious or compromised users to perform information gathering attacks that can reveal operational details including task execution times, statuses, resource consumption patterns, and potentially sensitive workflow dependencies. The flaw operates at the application layer and can be exploited through both the web UI and REST API interfaces, making it particularly dangerous as it provides multiple attack vectors for threat actors to exploit.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it can enable more sophisticated attacks that leverage the leaked information for further exploitation. An attacker who gains access to task instance metadata from unauthorized DAGs can potentially identify critical workflow components, understand business logic implementations, and map out the operational structure of the entire Airflow deployment. This information can be used to plan more targeted attacks, identify system weaknesses, or even facilitate privilege escalation attempts. The vulnerability directly violates security principles outlined in the CWE-284 access control framework, which emphasizes the importance of proper authorization checks and the prevention of unauthorized access to system resources. Additionally, this issue aligns with ATT&CK technique T1213.002 (Data from Information Repositories) as it enables unauthorized data extraction from repository systems.
Organizations using affected Apache Airflow versions face significant risks including potential data leakage, operational intelligence compromise, and increased attack surface for more sophisticated threats. The vulnerability particularly affects environments where multiple teams or departments share the same Airflow instance but require different levels of access to their respective workflow data. Security teams should immediately implement the recommended upgrade to version 2.7.2 or newer, which includes proper authorization checks and input validation mechanisms that prevent cross-DAG information leakage. Additional mitigations may include implementing network-level restrictions, monitoring for unusual API access patterns, and conducting thorough access control reviews to ensure proper segregation of duties. The fix addresses the underlying authorization logic by implementing stricter validation of DAG ownership and access permissions before allowing task instance metadata retrieval, thereby restoring the expected security boundaries within the Airflow platform.