A flaw in Airflow’s handling of rendered‑template fields causes nested sensitive keys such as password, token, secret, or api_key inside a JSON payload to be omitted from the mask_secret() logic when the rendered output exceeds the configured max_templated_field_length. The system converts the entire structure to a string before redaction, stripping the context that identifies the nested keys, and stores the plaintext in the rendered_fields cache. An authenticated user who can read rendered template fields through the Airflow UI or API can therefore retrieve credentials that were intended to remain hidden, constituting a direct leak of confidential information.

All installations of Apache Airflow before version 3.2.2 that support DAGs containing structured JSON with nested sensitive keys and that allow a user with read permissions to view rendered_template fields. The vulnerability is present regardless of the overall Airflow major release as long as the max_templated_field_length threshold is exceeded; updating to 3.2.2 or later eliminates the flaw.

The CVSS score is 6.5, indicating moderate severity. The EPSS score is less than 1%, indicating a very low but non‑zero likelihood of exploitation. The weakness is not listed in CISA's KEV catalog, yet the risk remains significant because it requires legitimate authentication. Any user who has permission to view rendered template fields in the Airflow web interface or API can actively exploit the vulnerability, gaining access to embedded secrets. No publicly documented exploitation technique exists, but the path to disclosure is straightforward and does not require additional external access.