Apache Airflow maintainers have disclosed a serious security issue, tracked as CVE-2025-54831, that allows users holding only read permissions to view sensitive connection details via both the Airflow API and web interface.
The vulnerability, present in Airflow version 3.0.3, undermines the platform’s intended “write-only” treatment of secrets in Connections and could lead to unauthorized exposure of credentials and other secret configuration data.
Apache Airflow is an open-source workflow orchestration platform widely adopted for scheduling and monitoring data pipelines.
With the release of Airflow 3.0.0, the project introduced a tighter security model for sensitive information in Connection objects.
Under this model, fields such as passwords, tokens, and private keys were intended to be masked by default and only revealed to users who hold explicit Connection edit (write) permissions. Read-only users were restricted to viewing non-sensitive metadata.
However, an implementation oversight in Airflow 3.0.3 inadvertently permitted read-only users to retrieve full sensitive values.
The issue was reported publicly on the developer mailing list by community member Kaxil Naik on September 25, 2025, and subsequently assigned CVE-2025-54831 with an “Important” severity rating.
Apache Airflow Vulnerability
In Airflow 3.0.3, both the API endpoint for retrieving Connection details and the corresponding UI view bypass the AIRFLOW__CORE__HIDE_SENSITIVE_VAR_CONN_FIELDS configuration.
This flag, when enabled, is supposed to hide fields such as password, host, port, and custom extras in the JSON response and UI display.
Instead, read-only users can conduct HTTP GET requests against /api/v1/connections/{connection_id} or navigate to the Connection details page in the web interface to view those fields in plaintext.
Affected elements include, but are not limited to:
- Database credentials (username, password).
- Cloud provider access keys and secrets.
- SSH private keys.
- Extra JSON field data containing API tokens or other secrets.
Because Airflow Connections are frequently used to store high-privilege service credentials, unauthorized read access poses a significant risk.
An attacker or insider with a read-only role could exfiltrate service account keys, cloud credentials, or encryption keys, potentially compromising downstream workloads, data stores, or entire cloud environments.
Although the vulnerability does not allow write-level modifications or remote code execution, the exposure of credentials can facilitate lateral movement, privilege escalation, and data exfiltration within a compromised environment.
Attackers can leverage exposed keys to infiltrate production databases, cloud services, and secret stores without triggering standard audit trails for credential misuse.
Organizations that enforce strict role-based access control (RBAC) in Airflow, granting read permissions to a wide user base, are particularly at risk.
Teams using shared or self-hosted Airflow deployments in multi-tenant setups should view this vulnerabilityas a critical lapse in the confidentiality guarantees of the platform.
- Apache Airflow (apache-airflow) 3.0.3
Airflow 2.x releases remain unaffected, as those versions did not implement the new write-only masking model and have long allowed connection secrets to be visible to editors by design.
Mitigations
The Apache Airflow project has addressed the issue in version 3.0.4, re-enforcing the write-only masking behavior and restoring respect for the AIRFLOW__CORE__HIDE_SENSITIVE_VAR_CONN_FIELDS configuration. All users of Airflow 3.0.3 are strongly advised to upgrade immediately:
bashpip install --upgrade apache-airflow>=3.0.4
Operators who cannot apply the upgrade immediately can implement a temporary workaround by deploying a proxy or API gateway in front of the Airflow webserver.
The proxy should filter out or mask sensitive JSON fields on /api/v1/connections/* endpoints. Additionally, ensure that the following environment variable is set in your Airflow configuration:
textAIRFLOW__CORE__HIDE_SENSITIVE_VAR_CONN_FIELDS=True
Even with the flag set, however, upgrading to 3.0.4 remains the only guaranteed fix.
CVE-2025-54831 underscores the complexity of securing secrets within workflow orchestration platforms.
As Airflow adoption grows across data teams, maintaining the confidentiality of service credentials becomes paramount.
Administrators should promptly upgrade to Airflow 3.0.4, audit their RBAC policies, and review any downstream systems accessed via exposed connections to mitigate potential compromise. Vigilance and timely patch management remain the best defense against such sensitive data exposures.
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