Executive brief
A vulnerability in the Apache Airflow Google provider allows for potential eavesdropping or tampering with communications between Airflow and Google Compute Engine virtual machines. Because the system does not verify the identity of the remote server during SSH connections, a sophisticated attacker positioned on the network could intercept sensitive data or execute unauthorized commands. This affects organizations using Airflow to manage tasks on Google Cloud infrastructure.
Technical details
The `ComputeEngineSSHHook` in the Apache Airflow Google provider (apache-airflow-providers-google) was found to hard-code the `paramiko.AutoAddPolicy` for SSH connections. This configuration disables strict host-key verification (CWE-322), meaning the client automatically trusts any host key presented by a remote server. An in-path network attacker can exploit this to perform a Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attack, intercepting or modifying the SSH traffic between the Airflow worker and the Google Compute Engine VM. The vulnerability is addressed in version 22.0.0 by introducing a `host_key_policy` parameter that allows users to configure strict verification.
Affected products
- Apache Software Foundation apache-airflow-providers-google < 22.0.0
Timeline
- 2026-05-24: disclosed: Initial disclosure on oss-security mailing list
- 2026-05-25: advisory: NVD publication date
- 2026-05-26: advisory: GitHub Advisory published
- 2026-06-30: patched: GitHub Advisory reviewed and updated with patch information
References
- https://github.com/apache/airflow/pull/66746
- https://lists.apache.org/thread/3lpj7ppwxp7jtp81rnxk75xvln7qd7h2
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/05/24/9
- https://github.com/apache/airflow/commit/120dbed3462cedcb980aac022c587ba434249eb1
- https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/apache-airflow-providers-google/PYSEC-2026-166.yaml