Summary
Apache Airflow Google provider allows path traversal through GCS object names
Apache Airflow's Google provider operators GCSToSFTPOperator and GCSTimeSpanFileTransformOperator joined GCS object names returned by the bucket listing API directly to a destination filesystem path without normalisation or containment check. A user with write access to the source GCS bucket (typically a different trust principal than the DAG author, partner uploads, ingest-only service accounts, public-data buckets) could create an object whose name contains .. segments and cause the DAG run to write the downloaded blob outside the configured destination (the SFTP destination_path for GCSToSFTPOperator; the worker-local temp directory for GCSTimeSpanFileTransformOperator), enabling overwrite of arbitrary files on the SFTP server or the worker host. Affects deployments that ingest from buckets writable by less-trusted principals. Users are advised to upgrade to apache-airflow-providers-google 22.2.1 or later.
Impact
Input manipulates file paths to reach files outside the intended directory, such as configuration or credential files. Typical impact: unauthorized file read or write outside the intended directory.
CVE-2026-49297 has a CVSS score of 8.1 (High). The vector is network-reachable, low privileges required, and no user interaction. 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 (22.2.1); 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.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2026-49297? CVE-2026-49297 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in apache-airflow-providers-google (pip), affecting versions < 22.2.1. It is fixed in 22.2.1. Input manipulates file paths to reach files outside the intended directory, such as configuration or credential files.
- How severe is CVE-2026-49297? CVE-2026-49297 has a CVSS score of 8.1 (High). 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-providers-google are affected by CVE-2026-49297? apache-airflow-providers-google (pip) versions < 22.2.1 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2026-49297? Yes. CVE-2026-49297 is fixed in 22.2.1. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2026-49297 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-49297 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-2026-49297 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-2026-49297? Upgrade
apache-airflow-providers-googleto 22.2.1 or later.