CVE-2023-22884 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) CWE-77 vulnerability in apache-airflow. 2 public exploit or proof-of-concept references are indexed, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for apache-airflow — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Apache Airflow, Apache Airflow MySQL Provider: Arbitrary file read via MySQL provider in Apache Airflow
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2023-22884.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
Where this sits among everything scored
Real-World Exposure
apache-airflow🐍apache-airflow-providers-mysqlReal-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
Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection') vulnerability in Apache Software Foundation Apache Airflow, Apache Software Foundation Apache Airflow MySQL Provider.This issue affects Apache Airflow: before 2.5.1; Apache Airflow MySQL Provider: before 4.0.0.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | apache-airflow | all versions | 2.5.1pip install --upgrade 'apache-airflow==2.5.1' |
| 🐍PyPI | apache-airflow-providers-mysql | all versions | 4.0.0pip install --upgrade 'apache-airflow-providers-mysql==4.0.0' |
Affected Products
airflowapacheapache-airflow-providers-mysqlapacheResearch use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for apache-airflow, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update apache-airflow to 2.5.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-22884 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Stop passing untrusted input into the interpreter or shell: call the affected binary with an argument array rather than a composed command string, reject anything outside a strict allowlist of expected values, and run the component under an account that cannot reach beyond the work it legitimately does.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2023-22884 in your dependencies?
Find it across PyPI, including transitive dependencies.