GHSA-mc4f-r875-v87w is a high-severity (CVSS 8.8) Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability in apache-airflow. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-mc4f-r875-v87w is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Apache Airflow: Unsafe Deserialization via Legacy Serialization Keys (__type/__var) Bypass in XCom API
Real-World Exposure
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
Dag Authors, who normally should not be able to execute code in the webserver context could craft XCom payload causing the webserver to execute arbitrary code. Since Dag Authors are already highly trusted, severity of this issue is Low.
Users are recommended to upgrade to Apache Airflow 3.2.0, which resolves this issue.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | apache-airflow | ≥ 3.1.8&&< 3.2.0 | 3.2.0 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for apache-airflow. 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 3.2.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-mc4f-r875-v87w 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 GHSA-mc4f-r875-v87w 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 GHSA-mc4f-r875-v87w. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-mc4f-r875-v87w in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-mc4f-r875-v87w across PyPI dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.