CVE-2021-38540

CRITICAL NUCLEI

Airflow >=2.0.0-<2.1.3 - RCE/Info Disclosure

Title source: llm
STIX 2.1

Exploitation Summary

EIP tracks 1 public exploit for CVE-2021-38540. PoCs published by Captain-v-hook. A Nuclei detection template is also available.

AI-analyzed exploit summary This PoC demonstrates an authentication bypass vulnerability in Apache Airflow (CVE-2021-38540) by sending a crafted HTTP POST request to the unauthenticated `/variable/varimport` endpoint, allowing the creation/modification of Airflow variables. The exploit leverages a missing authentication check to potentially achieve remote code execution or denial of service.

Description

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.

Exploits (1)

nomisec WORKING POC 4 stars
by Captain-v-hook · poc
https://github.com/Captain-v-hook/PoC-for-CVE-2021-38540-

This PoC demonstrates an authentication bypass vulnerability in Apache Airflow (CVE-2021-38540) by sending a crafted HTTP POST request to the unauthenticated `/variable/varimport` endpoint, allowing the creation/modification of Airflow variables. The exploit leverages a missing authentication check to potentially achieve remote code execution or denial of service.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Auth Bypass
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Apache Airflow >=2.0.0, <2.1.3
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Network access to the Airflow web interface · Target running vulnerable Apache Airflow version
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →

Nuclei Templates (1)

Apache Airflow - Unauthenticated Variable Import
CRITICALVERIFIEDby pdteam
Shodan: title:"Sign In - Airflow" || http.title:"airflow - dags" || http.html:"apache airflow" || http.title:"sign in - airflow" || product:"redis"
FOFA: title="sign in - airflow" || apache airflow || title="airflow - dags" || http.html:"apache airflow"

Scores

CVSS v3 9.8
EPSS 0.9178
EPSS Percentile 99.7%
Attack Vector NETWORK
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Details

CWE
CWE-269 CWE-306
Status published
Products (2)
apache/airflow 2.0.0 - 2.1.3
pypi/apache-airflow 2.0.0 - 2.1.3PyPI
Published Sep 09, 2021
Tracked Since Feb 18, 2026