A crafted XCom payload can cause Apache Airflow’s webserver to deserialize arbitrary data and instantiate classes, allowing a Dag Author to execute code in the webserver process. The vulnerability originates from the API extra‑links handling and results in untrusted data being deserialized without validation. This flaw enables Remote Code Execution for users with Dag Author privileges, which are considered highly trusted but still pose a risk if they abuse this capability.

Apache Airflow versions prior to 3.2.0, including 3.1.5, are impacted. The advisory recommends updating to Airflow 3.2.0 or newer to address the issue. Earlier releases that still use the same XCom deserialization logic are also susceptible.

CWE‑502 classifies this as Deserialization of Untrusted Data; the reported severity is low because the attacker must already have Dag Author status, a level of trust within a project. EPSS is not available and the vulnerability is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog. Exploit would require the attacker to craft an XCom payload and submit it through the webserver API, which may be limited by role‑based access controls. In environments where Dag Authors have unrestricted API access, the risk is heightened, but in tightly controlled deployments the likelihood of exploitation remains moderate.