Apache Airflow maintainers have disclosed a severe safety difficulty, tracked as CVE-2025-54831, that permits customers holding solely learn permissions to view delicate connection particulars through each the Airflow API and internet interface.
The vulnerability, current in Airflow model 3.0.3, undermines the platform’s supposed “write-only” therapy of secrets and techniques in Connections and will result in unauthorized publicity of credentials and different secret configuration information.
Apache Airflow is an open-source workflow orchestration platform extensively adopted for scheduling and monitoring information pipelines.
With the discharge of Airflow 3.0.0, the undertaking launched a tighter safety mannequin for delicate info in Connection objects.
Underneath this mannequin, fields resembling passwords, tokens, and personal keys had been supposed to be masked by default and solely revealed to customers who maintain specific Connection edit (write) permissions. Learn-only customers had been restricted to viewing non-sensitive metadata.
Nonetheless, an implementation oversight in Airflow 3.0.3 inadvertently permitted read-only customers to retrieve full delicate values.
The difficulty was reported publicly on the developer mailing checklist by neighborhood member Kaxil Naik on September 25, 2025, and subsequently assigned CVE-2025-54831 with an “Vital” severity ranking.
Apache Airflow Vulnerability
In Airflow 3.0.3, each the API endpoint for retrieving Connection particulars and the corresponding UI view bypass the AIRFLOW__CORE__HIDE_SENSITIVE_VAR_CONN_FIELDS configuration.
This flag, when enabled, is meant to cover fields resembling password, host, port, and customized extras within the JSON response and UI show.
As a substitute, read-only customers can conduct HTTP GET requests towards /api/v1/connections/{connection_id} or navigate to the Connection particulars web page within the internet interface to view these fields in plaintext.
Affected parts embody, however usually are not restricted to:
- Database credentials (username, password).
- Cloud supplier entry keys and secrets and techniques.
- SSH non-public keys.
- Additional JSON subject information containing API tokens or different secrets and techniques.
As a result of Airflow Connections are incessantly used to retailer high-privilege service credentials, unauthorized learn entry poses a major danger.
An attacker or insider with a read-only position might exfiltrate service account keys, cloud credentials, or encryption keys, probably compromising downstream workloads, information shops, or complete cloud environments.
Though the vulnerability doesn’t permit write-level modifications or distant code execution, the publicity of credentials can facilitate lateral motion, privilege escalation, and information exfiltration inside a compromised surroundings.
Attackers can leverage uncovered keys to infiltrate manufacturing databases, cloud providers, and secret shops with out triggering commonplace audit trails for credential misuse.
Organizations that implement strict role-based entry management (RBAC) in Airflow, granting learn permissions to a large person base, are notably in danger.
Groups utilizing shared or self-hosted Airflow deployments in multi-tenant setups ought to view this vulnerabilityas a crucial lapse within the confidentiality ensures of the platform.
- Apache Airflow (apache-airflow) 3.0.3
Airflow 2.x releases stay unaffected, as these variations didn’t implement the brand new write-only masking mannequin and have lengthy allowed connection secrets and techniques to be seen to editors by design.
Mitigations
The Apache Airflow undertaking has addressed the problem in model 3.0.4, re-enforcing the write-only masking habits and restoring respect for the AIRFLOW__CORE__HIDE_SENSITIVE_VAR_CONN_FIELDS configuration. All customers of Airflow 3.0.3 are strongly suggested to improve instantly:
bashpip set up --upgrade apache-airflow>=3.0.4
Operators who can’t apply the improve instantly can implement a short lived workaround by deploying a proxy or API gateway in entrance of the Airflow webserver.
The proxy ought to filter out or masks delicate JSON fields on /api/v1/connections/* endpoints. Moreover, make sure that the next surroundings variable is about in your Airflow configuration:
textual contentAIRFLOW__CORE__HIDE_SENSITIVE_VAR_CONN_FIELDS=True
Even with the flag set, nonetheless, upgrading to three.0.4 stays the one assured repair.
CVE-2025-54831 underscores the complexity of securing secrets and techniques inside workflow orchestration platforms.
As Airflow adoption grows throughout information groups, sustaining the confidentiality of service credentials turns into paramount.
Directors ought to promptly improve to Airflow 3.0.4, audit their RBAC insurance policies, and evaluation any downstream programs accessed through uncovered connections to mitigate potential compromise. Vigilance and well timed patch administration stay one of the best protection towards such delicate information exposures.
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