CVE-2026-42359CWE-502

Apache Airflow: Authenticated RCE via XCom PATCH endpoint — XComUpdateBody missing FORBIDDEN_XCOM_KEYS validator

High · published June 1, 2026

CVSS v3.1
8.8
EPSS
1%
Percentile
60.8
In the wild
Unconfirmed
What it is

A bug in Apache Airflow's XCom PATCH endpoint `PATCH /api/v2/xcomEntries/{key}` allowed an authenticated UI/API user with XCom write permission on a Dag to set XCom entries under reserved key names (e.g. `return_value`) that the matching POST endpoint already validated against `FORBIDDEN_XCOM_KEYS`. The endpoint also accepted serialized payload shapes the triggerer's deserializer treats as code; combined, this allowed RCE on the triggerer when the affected task next deferred. Affects deployments where untrusted users have XCom write permission on Dags that defer to the triggerer. This is a fix-bypass of CVE-2026-33858: PR #64148 added the `FORBIDDEN_XCOM_KEYS` validator only on the POST/set path; the PATCH path was not covered. Users who already upgraded for CVE-2026-33858 should additionally upgrade to `apache-airflow` 3.2.2 or later to cover the PATCH-path bypass.

The record
Technical detail
CVSS v3.1
8.8 · HIGH
Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS v4.0
Not supplied
EPSS
0.00947 · 60.8th percentile
Weakness
CWE-502 · Deserialization of Untrusted Data
Published
2026-06-01T07:49Z
EPSS history
Timeline
  • 01 JUN 07:49Z
    Apache Airflow: Authenticated RCE via XCom PATCH endpoint — XComUpdateBody missing FORBIDDEN_XCOM_KEYS validator
    cvelistv5