CVE-2026-68969: Apache airflow Apache Airflow Bulk Endpoints Log Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-cjv4-7hp2-2x9h
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CVSS 6.5
CWE-532
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-68969 is a MODERATE (CVSS 6.5) apache airflow bulk endpoints log vulnerability (CWE-532: Insertion of Sensitive Information into Log File) affecting Apache airflow libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves apache airflow bulk endpoints log variable and connection secrets in cleartext. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 3.3.1.

CVE-2026-68969 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-68969
GHSA Identifier GHSA-cjv4-7hp2-2x9h
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 6.5
CWE Classification CWE-532: Insertion of Sensitive Information into Log File
Affected Product Apache airflow
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 6.5

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required Low (PR:L)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2026-68969

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Apache airflow dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

apache-airflow fixed: 3.3.1 
pip install apache-airflow>=3.3.1
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

pip show apache-airflow

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2026-68969, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show apache-airflow

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Apache airflow in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 3.3.1), your application is affected.

Note: The pip show apache-airflow command checks currently installed packages in your active Python environment.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-532: Insertion of Sensitive Information into Log File, where the product writes sensitive information to a log file. In Apache airflow, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

Apache Airflow wrote Variable values and Connection `extra` contents to the audit log in cleartext when they were submitted through the bulk endpoints (`PATCH /api/v2/variables` and `PATCH /api/v2/connections`). The audit-log masking recognised only top-level request fields, and a bulk request nests its entities two levels below, so no masking was applied to them. Any authenticated user with audit-log read access -- who need not hold Variables or Connections read at all -- could recover those secrets verbatim, and the Connection `extra` copy is stored unencrypted in the log while the connection table encrypts it. The Airflow UI's *Import Variables* action posts to this endpoint, so an ordinary operator import wrote every secret in the file to the log. This is a different code path from CVE-2026-50204: that fix shipped in 3.3.0 and covers the single-entity endpoints only, so deployments that upgraded in response to that advisory remain affected and must upgrade again. Users are advised to upgrade to apache-airflow 3.3.1 or later.

CVE-2026-68969 Affected Apache airflow Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
3.3.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
apache-airflow
pypi/apache-airflow
PyPI
< 3.3.1
3.3.1

References

Apache airflow Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/apache/airflow/pull/70890
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/apache/airflow/commit/76a851b1c5ed27164176af15235fa14cf6afc6ed
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/apache/airflow/commit/fc8d6d8b6194674f4043fb4f632e7700876c0fd7
Apache airflow Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/apache/airflow
Apache airflow Release RELEASE
https://github.com/apache/airflow/releases/tag/3.3.1
Apache airflow Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/apache-airflow/PYSEC-2026-3711.yaml
lists.apache.org/thread/p3jr90jgp2br... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread/p3jr90jgp2brto4vwcrx680f3x11y70c
CVE Official Record — CVE-2026-68969 CVE
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-50204
NVD — CVE-2026-68969 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-68969

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-68969?
CVE-2026-68969 is a security vulnerability in Apache airflow involving Apache Airflow bulk endpoints log Variable and Connection secrets in cleartext under CWE-532: Insertion of Sensitive Information into Log File.
Which Apache airflow versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 3.3.1 across affected packages: apache-airflow.
What version fixes CVE-2026-68969?
Upgrading to 3.3.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is apache-airflow affected?
Yes, apache-airflow is affected in releases prior to 3.3.1. Upgrade your dependency to 3.3.1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-68969?
CVE-2026-68969 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.5 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-68969?
CVE-2026-68969 is classified under CWE-532: Insertion of Sensitive Information into Log File (The product writes sensitive information to a log file.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2026-68969?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show apache-airflow'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-cjv4-7hp2-2x9h",
  "modified" : "2026-10-02T23:14:12Z",
  "published" : "2026-08-12T18:31:19Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-68969" ],
  "summary" : "Apache Airflow bulk endpoints log Variable and Connection secrets in cleartext",
  "details" : "Apache Airflow wrote Variable values and Connection `extra` contents to the audit log in cleartext when they were submitted through the bulk endpoints (`PATCH /api/v2/variables` and `PATCH /api/v2/connections`). The audit-log masking recognised only top-level request fields, and a bulk request nests its entities two levels below, so no masking was applied to them. Any authenticated user with audit-log read access -- who need not hold Variables or Connections read at all -- could recover those secrets verbatim, and the Connection `extra` copy is stored unencrypted in the log while the connection table encrypts it. The Airflow UI's *Import Variables* action posts to this endpoint, so an ordinary operator import wrote every secret in the file to the log. This is a different code path from CVE-2026-50204: that fix shipped in 3.3.0 and covers the single-entity endpoints only, so deployments that upgraded in response to that advisory remain affected and must upgrade again. Users are advised to upgrade to apache-airflow 3.3.1 or later.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "apache-airflow"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3.3.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-68969"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/apache/airflow/pull/70890"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/apache/airflow/commit/76a851b1c5ed27164176af15235fa14cf6afc6ed"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/apache/airflow/commit/fc8d6d8b6194674f4043fb4f632e7700876c0fd7"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/apache/airflow"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/apache/airflow/releases/tag/3.3.1"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/apache-airflow/PYSEC-2026-3711.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.apache.org/thread/p3jr90jgp2brto4vwcrx680f3x11y70c"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-50204"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-532" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-10-02T23:14:12Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-08-12T16:17:19Z"
  }
}