Critical severity9.8NVD Advisory· Published Sep 9, 2021· Updated Jun 17, 2026
CVE-2021-38540
CVE-2021-38540
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.
AI Insight
LLM-synthesized narrative grounded in this CVE's description and references.
Affected packages
Versions sourced from the GitHub Security Advisory.
| Package | Affected versions | Patched versions |
|---|---|---|
apache-airflowPyPI | >= 2.0.0, < 2.1.3 | 2.1.3 |
Affected products
4- osv-coords2 versions
>= 2.0.0, < 2.1.3+ 1 more
- (no CPE)range: >= 2.0.0, < 2.1.3
- (no CPE)range: >= 2.0.0, < 2.1.3
Patches
Vulnerability mechanics
References
7- github.com/advisories/GHSA-h88f-r7cw-8fv3ghsaADVISORY
- lists.apache.org/thread.html/rb34c3dd1a815456355217eef34060789f771b6f77c3a3dec77de2064%40%3Cusers.airflow.apache.org%3EnvdMailing ListVendor AdvisoryWEB
- nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-38540ghsaADVISORY
- github.com/apache/airflow/commit/bcec1df703cd4a01520a90c3f801cca6f97d9bfdghsaWEB
- github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/apache-airflow/PYSEC-2021-326.yamlghsaWEB
- lists.apache.org/thread.html/rac2ed9118f64733e47b4f1e82ddc8c8020774698f13328ca742b03a2@%3Cannounce.apache.org%3EghsaWEB
- lists.apache.org/thread.html/rac2ed9118f64733e47b4f1e82ddc8c8020774698f13328ca742b03a2%40%3Cannounce.apache.org%3Envd
News mentions
0No linked articles in our index yet.