CVE-2026-86829Apache Airflow deserialization of untrusted data
CVE-2026-86829 is a deserialization of untrusted data in Apache Airflow, not yet scored.
Why this priority: Not scored yet, and no exploitation signal.
Published · Updated · NVD status: Awaiting Analysis
What it is
Serialized objects from outside are turned back into live objects, which a crafted payload can abuse to run code.
How it is reached
The record does not say yet how the flaw is reached; the description below is the best guide until it is scored.
What an attacker gains
Its impact has not been scored yet. In practice, this kind of flaw lets an attacker turn crafted data into code execution inside the receiving service.
Is it being exploited?
There is no public report of exploitation yet.
What to do
- Upgrade Apache Airflow to 3.4.0 or later.
Description from NVD
Apache Airflow's scheduler fully deserializes XCom values written by task code while evaluating task dependencies. A Dag author, who controls what a task writes to XCom, therefore controls data that is deserialized inside the scheduler process - a context the Airflow security model reserves for code installed by the Deployment Manager, above the worker-scoped execution capability a Dag author is documented to have. Deployments that treat Dag authors as less trusted than Deployment Managers are affected, and the scheduler must be evaluating a task dependency that reads a task-written XCom value. Users of apache-airflow are recommended to upgrade to version 3.4.0 or later, which restricts dependency evaluation to primitive XCom values.
What this means for your architecture.
A CVE names a product. Whether it matters depends on where that product sits in your systems: what reaches it, which trust boundary it guards and what it can reach once compromised. Veriom maps your components, their relationships and your trust boundaries from your code, cloud and delivery evidence, so you can see where a component like this sits. The radar itself does not look at your systems.
Components it touches
- APIs, queues and caches that accept serialized objects. The flaw sits between a message producer and the service that deserializes it.
Trust boundaries in play
- Between a message producer and the service that deserializes it. An attacker who crosses it can turn crafted data into code execution inside the receiving service.
Questions to answer about your own systems
- Where does Apache Airflow run in your systems, and at which version?
- Which of those instances are reachable by people you do not trust?
- What can it reach once compromised: which data stores, secrets and services?
Read more
Sources
- CVE records and CVSS scores from the NVD CVE API. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.
- Exploitation status from CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
- Exploit likelihood from FIRST’s Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), refreshed daily.
- Explanations are written by Veriom from fixed templates over each record’s data, not by a person reviewing each CVE. Descriptions are quoted from the records as published.