CVE-2023-39441
MEDIUMCVE-2023-39441 is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.9) vulnerability in apache-airflow-providers-smtp. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2023-39441 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Apache Airflow SMTP Provider, Apache Airflow IMAP Provider, Apache Airflow: SMTP/IMAP client components allowed MITM due to missing Certificate Validation
Blast Radius
apache-airflow-providers-smtp🐍apache-airflow-providers-imap🐍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
Apache Airflow SMTP Provider before 1.3.0, Apache Airflow IMAP Provider before 3.3.0, and Apache Airflow before 2.7.0 are affected by the Validation of OpenSSL Certificate vulnerability.
The default SSL context with SSL library did not check a server's X.509 certificate. Instead, the code accepted any certificate, which could result in the disclosure of mail server credentials or mail contents when the client connects to an attacker in a MITM position.
Users are strongly advised to upgrade to Apache Airflow version 2.7.0 or newer, Apache Airflow IMAP Provider version 3.3.0 or newer, and Apache Airflow SMTP Provider version 1.3.0 or newer to mitigate the risk associated with this vulnerability
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | apache-airflow-providers-smtp | all versions | 1.3.0 |
| 🐍PyPI | apache-airflow-providers-imap | all versions | 3.3.0 |
| 🐍PyPI | apache-airflow | all versions | 2.7.0 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for apache-airflow-providers-smtp. 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-providers-smtp to 1.3.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-39441 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-2023-39441 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-2023-39441. 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-2023-39441 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2023-39441 across PyPI dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.