Skip to main content
ExploitedIn CISA KEVFix available

CVE-2020-13927

Exploitation confirmed. First attested on 2022-01-18 by CISA-ADP, CISA KEV, GCVE · kevintel.

  • Published2020-11-10
  • Fixed in1.10.11
  • WeaknessCWE-1056 · CWE-1188 · CWE-306

Am I affected?

With a domain, we read the version its public headers and pages expose. A distribution build can carry the fix under an older number.

Description

The previous default setting for Airflow's Experimental API was to allow all API requests without authentication, but this poses security risks to users who miss this fact. From Airflow 1.10.11 the default has been changed to deny all requests by default and is documented at https://airflow.apache.org/docs/1.10.11/security.html#api-authentication. Note this change fixes it for new installs but existing users need to change their config to default `[api]auth_backend = airflow.api.auth.backend.deny_all` as mentioned in the Updating Guide: https://github.com/apache/airflow/blob/1.10.11/UPDATING.md#experimental-api-will-deny-all-request-by-default

Timeline

dates in UTC
  1. 2020-11-1016:15CVE publishedNVD
  2. 2021-06-02Exploit-DB entryExploit-DB
  3. 2022-01-18Added to the CISA KEV catalogCISA KEV
  4. 2022-01-18Listed as exploited by GCVEGCVE
  5. 2022-01-18Exploitation first reportedCISA KEV
  6. 2024-07-2421:03SSVC exploitation set to activeCISA-ADP

Observed activity

isMalicious corpus · updated 2026-11-03 21:37 UTC
Indicators tagged with this CVE, per day0 indicators over 7 days
Block these indicators
  • Firewall list (EDL, text): https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2020-13927?format=txt
  • CSV export: https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2020-13927?format=csv
  • TAXII collection of exploited CVEs
  • The EDL and CSV take an API key on the Pro plan.

Versions per branch

NVD · CISA-ADP · OSV
Apache airflow
BranchAffectedFixed in
1.10< 1.10.111.10.11

as publishedRanges as NVD and OSV publish them; a distribution’s build can be fixed under an older number.

Products declared by the CNA1 product

As apache, the CNA that assigned this CVE, declared them in the CVE record; versions as written.

  • Apache Airflow
    Affected
    • = Apache Airflow <1.10.11no fix stated

Source: the CNA record (CVE Program), © The MITRE Corporation,CVE Terms of UseCVE recordupdated 2023-09-19

Fix

  1. Update Apache airflow to 1.10.11
  2. CISA’s required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.due 2022-07-18

Advisories and patches

Detection

read 2026-11-02 22:42 UTC
Nuclei template
available
ProjectDiscovery
Exploit-DB
EDB-49927
Exploit-DB
Proof-of-concept repositories
1 repository, unverifiedferralon-demo/airflow-experimental-api-rce
PoC-in-GitHub
Metasploit modules
1 moduleexploit/linux/http/apache_airflow_dag_rcerank: excellentModule metadata: Metasploit Framework, © Rapid7, Inc., BSD-3-Clause.
Metasploit Framework

CISA Known Exploited Vulnerability

Date Added
2022-01-18
Patch Due Date
2022-07-18
Ransomware Use
Unknown
Required Action
Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Sources

Identifiers

Technical details

CVSS v3 Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Published
2020-11-10
Last Modified
2026-06-17
NVD status
Analyzed
GitHub Advisory
GHSA-hhx9-p69v-cx2j

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2020-13927?

The previous default setting for Airflow's Experimental API was to allow all API requests without authentication, but this poses security risks to users who miss this fact. From Airflow 1.10.11 the default has been changed to deny all requests by default and is documented at https://airflow.apache.org/docs/1.10.11/security.html#api-authentication. Note this change fixes it for new installs but existing users need to change their config to default `[api]auth_backend = airflow.api.auth.backend.deny_all` as mentioned in the Updating Guide: https://github.com/apache/airflow/blob/1.10.11/UPDATING.md#experimental-api-will-deny-all-request-by-default

Is CVE-2020-13927 actively exploited?

Yes. CVE-2020-13927 is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, meaning it has been confirmed as actively exploited in the wild. CISA requires federal agencies to patch by 2022-07-18.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2020-13927?

CVE-2020-13927 has a CVSS v3 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL severity), with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

Running airflow? Hear about its next vulnerability

Surveillance reads the versions in your stack — a domain, a lockfile or a list — checks each CVE against the ranges its sources publish, and alerts you when one you run is exploited or enters CISA KEV. A version it cannot read stays « version not verified ».

Get alerts for this productCISA KEV additions, January 2022Search CVEs

No credit card required · No monthly cap on website lookups · 250 API requests/month

Go further

Related vulnerabilities

Same product first, then the same vendor advisory and the same publication week.

Back to CVE Database

Sources for this record