Summary
Apache Airflow, version 2.7.0 through 2.7.3, has a vulnerability that allows an attacker to trigger a DAG in a GET request without CSRF validation. As a result, it was possible for a malicious website opened in the same browser - by the user who also had Airflow UI opened - to trigger the execution of DAGs without the user's consent.
Users are advised to upgrade to version 2.8.0 or later which is not affected
Impact
A victim's authenticated browser session is used to submit forged requests to an application that cannot distinguish them from legitimate ones. Typical impact: state-changing actions performed as the victim without their consent.
CVE-2023-49920 has a CVSS score of 6.5 (Medium). The vector is network-reachable, no privileges required, and user interaction required. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (2.8.0); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
Remediation advice
Kodem Kai can prioritize this vulnerability in your dependency tree and generate a fix recommendation.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2023-49920? CVE-2023-49920 is a medium-severity cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in apache-airflow (pip), affecting versions >= 2.7.0, < 2.8.0. It is fixed in 2.8.0. A victim's authenticated browser session is used to submit forged requests to an application that cannot distinguish them from legitimate ones.
- How severe is CVE-2023-49920? CVE-2023-49920 has a CVSS score of 6.5 (Medium). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Which versions of apache-airflow are affected by CVE-2023-49920? apache-airflow (pip) versions >= 2.7.0, < 2.8.0 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2023-49920? Yes. CVE-2023-49920 is fixed in 2.8.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2023-49920 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-49920 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2023-49920 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
- How do I fix CVE-2023-49920? Upgrade
apache-airflowto 2.8.0 or later.