Apache Airflow Task SDK fails to mask list-shaped JSON Variables
Medium6.5CVE-2026-68970 · Published Aug 12, 2026 · updated Oct 2, 2026
Apache Airflow's Task SDK did not mask the contents of a Variable whose JSON value is a list, so secrets stored in that shape appeared in cleartext in task logs and in the Rendered Templates UI. Masking was applied only when the deserialized value was a string or a dict; a list at the top level matched neither and was returned unmasked. Any authenticated user able to read the logs or rendered templates of a task that references such a Variable could recover the values, with no special configuration required. This is the list-shaped counterpart of CVE-2026-59244, whose fix covered the dict case only, so deployments that upgraded in response to that advisory remain affected and must upgrade again. Users are advised to upgrade to apache-airflow 3.3.1 or later.
Affected versions
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| apache-airflow PyPI | < 3.3.1 | 3.3.1 |
Details and references
- CVSS 3.1
- CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
- Severity from
- GitHub (reviewed advisory)
- Weakness
- CWE-312
- Also known as
- BIT-airflow-2026-68970, CVE-2026-68970, PYSEC-2026-3712
- nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-68970
- github.com/apache/airflow/pull/70891
- github.com/apache/airflow/commit/0de18f5ea722fdb0f3372d02cf0222348e83ddcf
- github.com/apache/airflow/commit/c2e4711c6fd43f344f5940e37f813cb3aa49dbf1
- github.com/apache/airflow
- github.com/apache/airflow/releases/tag/3.3.1
- github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/apache-airflow/PYSEC-2026-3712.yaml
- lists.apache.org/thread/kkrlnbsk47oght4h38mcd3h2kcb8dt28
- www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-59244
More Apache Airflow advisories
All Apache Airflow| Date | Advisory | Severity | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 12 | Apache Airflow missing team context permits cross-team Dag actions and XCom reads | Medium6.5 | 3.3.1 |
| Aug 12 | Apache Airflow bulk endpoints log Variable and Connection secrets in cleartext | Medium6.5 | 3.3.1 |
| Aug 12 | Apache Airflow Task SDK Callback deserialization can import arbitrary modules in the scheduler | High8.8 | 3.3.1 |
| Aug 12 | Apache Airflow environment-variable secrets backend permits cross-team credential use | Medium5.4 | 3.3.1 |
| Aug 12 | Apache Airflow Config API exposes team-scoped sensitive configuration values | Medium6.5 | 3.3.1 |
| Aug 12 | Apache Airflow XCom API permits unsafe deserialization through JSON string literals | Medium5.4 | 3.3.1 |