AVID-2026-R1273

Description

Apache Airflow Spark Provider Deserialization Vulnerability RCE (CVE-2023-40195)

Details

Deserialization of Untrusted Data, Inclusion of Functionality from Untrusted Control Sphere vulnerability in Apache Software Foundation Apache Airflow Spark Provider.

When the Apache Spark provider is installed on an Airflow deployment, an Airflow user that is authorized to configure Spark hooks can effectively run arbitrary code on the Airflow node by pointing it at a malicious Spark server. Prior to version 4.1.3, this was not called out in the documentation explicitly, so it is possible that administrators provided authorizations to configure Spark hooks without taking this into account. We recommend administrators to review their configurations to make sure the authorization to configure Spark hooks is only provided to fully trusted users.

To view the warning in the docs please visit  https://airflow.apache.org/docs/apache-airflow-providers-apache-spark/4.1.3/connections/spark.html

Reason for inclusion in AVID: The CVE describes a remote code execution via deserialization in the Apache Airflow Spark Provider, a software component commonly used in AI/ML pipeline orchestration and data processing. It affects tooling used to build, deploy, or run AI workloads, representing a software supply-chain vulnerability within AI stacks. The issue has a clear exploitation path (deserialization leading to RCE) and is documented with impact details.

References

• NVD entry
• https://github.com/apache/airflow/pull/33233
• https://lists.apache.org/thread/fzy95b1d6zv31j5wrx3znhzcscck2o24

Affected or Relevant Artifacts

• Developer: Apache Software Foundation
• Deployer: Apache Software Foundation
• Artifact Details:

Impact

AVID Taxonomy Categorization

• Risk domains: Security
• SEP subcategories: S0100: Software Vulnerability
• Lifecycle stages: L06: Deployment

CWE

Other information

• Report Type: Advisory
• Credits:
• Date Reported: 2023-08-28
• Version: 0.3.3
• AVID Entry