CVE-2021-28359
MEDIUMCVE-2021-28359 is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.1) Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in apache-airflow. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2021-28359 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Cross-site Scripting in Apache Airflow
Real-World Exposure
apache-airflow🐍apache-airflowReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects PyPI packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
The "origin" parameter passed to some of the endpoints like '/trigger' was vulnerable to XSS exploit. This issue affects Apache Airflow versions <1.10.15 in 1.x series and affects 2.0.0 and 2.0.1 and 2.x series. This is the same as CVE-2020-13944 & CVE-2020-17515 but the implemented fix did not fix the issue completely. Update to Airflow 1.10.15 or 2.0.2. Please also update your Python version to the latest available PATCH releases of the installed MINOR versions, example update to Python 3.6.13 if you are on Python 3.6. (Those contain the fix for CVE-2021-23336 https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-23336).
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | apache-airflow | all versions | 1.10.15 |
| 🐍PyPI | apache-airflow | ≥ 2.0.0a1&&< 2.0.2 | 2.0.2 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for apache-airflow. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update apache-airflow to 1.10.15 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-28359 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2021-28359 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2021-28359. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2021-28359 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2021-28359 across PyPI dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.