Apache Airflow SFTP provider up to 5.8.0 path traversal

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical has been found in Apache Airflow SFTP provider up to 5.8.0. This impacts an unknown function. This manipulation causes path traversal. This vulnerability is registered as CVE-2026-50203. Remote exploitation of the attack is possible. No exploit is available. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Apache Airflow SFTP provider up to 5.8.0. It has been declared as critical. Affected by this vulnerability is some unknown processing. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a path traversal vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-22. The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

A path traversal in the SFTP provider (`SFTPHook.retrieve_directory` / `SFTPOperator(operation=get)`) let a malicious or compromised remote SFTP server write files outside the configured local destination directory via crafted directory-entry names. No Airflow account is required — the attack surface is any deployment downloading directories from an untrusted SFTP server. Upgrade `apache-airflow-providers-sftp` to 5.8.1 or later.

The weakness was published by Venkatraman Kumar (secuholic). The advisory is shared at github.com. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-50203 since 06/04/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be launched remotely. Neither technical details nor an exploit are publicly available. The price for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 06/17/2026). MITRE ATT&CK project uses the attack technique T1006 for this issue.

Upgrading to version 5.8.1 eliminates this vulnerability.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at EUVD (EUVD-2026-37520). Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

• Business Process Management Software

Vendor

• Apache

Name

• Airflow SFTP provider

Version

• 5.0
• 5.1
• 5.2
• 5.3
• 5.4
• 5.5
• 5.6
• 5.7
• 5.8.0

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.apache.org/

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Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

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