CVE-2021-38540
CRITICALEPSS 100th pctlDescription
The variable import endpoint was not protected by authentication in Airflow >=2.0.0, <2.1.3. This allowed unauthenticated users to hit that endpoint to add/modify Airflow variables used in DAGs, potentially resulting in a denial of service, information disclosure or remote code execution. This issue affects Apache Airflow >=2.0.0, <2.1.3.
How to fix
TridentStack Control can deploy fixes like this automatically across your Windows, macOS, and Linux fleet. See how it works
Remediation is compiled from vendor and distribution security advisories. Always confirm against the linked source for your exact version and platform.
CVSS v3 Vector
Exploitability
Impact
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Exploit Intelligence
Very high risk: more likely to be exploited than 100% of all known CVEs.
References
Related Vulnerabilities
Other CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management) vulnerabilities, ordered by exploit likelihood. View all
| CVE | Severity | CVSS | EPSS | Exploited | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2017-12635 | Critical | 9.8 | 100% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2022-24637 | Critical | 9.8 | 99% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2017-5689 | Critical | 9.8 | 92% | KEV | Fix |
| CVE-2020-3243 | Critical | 9.8 | 88% | - | - |
| CVE-2024-21888 | High | 8.8 | 87% | - | - |
| CVE-2022-0441 | Critical | 9.8 | 85% | - | Fix |
Common questions
How do I fix CVE-2021-38540?
Upgrade airflow to 2.1.3 or later.
Is CVE-2021-38540 being actively exploited?
Not that we know of. CVE-2021-38540 is not in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Its EPSS score of 80.9% is the estimated probability that it will be exploited in the next 30 days. That is higher than 100% of all scored CVEs.
How severe is CVE-2021-38540?
CVE-2021-38540 has a CVSS v3 base score of 9.8, rated critical. CVSS rates the technical impact if the vulnerability is exploited, not how likely that is, so weigh it alongside the exploit-prediction score when you decide what to patch first.
What does CVE-2021-38540 affect?
Published advisories record a fix for airflow (NVD). Only products with a sourced advisory are listed, so treat this as what we can cite rather than a complete inventory.
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This product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2024-11-21.