CVE-2026-81914 Apache Software Foundation CVE debrief

Who should care

Defenders responsible for Apache Airflow deployments, especially those using wildcard `gcs_to_gdrive` transfers from buckets writable by less-trusted principals, should assess exposure and prioritize verification and remediation.

Why it matters

CVE-2026-81914 allows for injection of Google Drive search expressions in Apache Airflow's Google provider, potentially leading to unauthorized access or data exposure. Defenders should prioritize verification and remediation, especially for deployments using wildcard `gcs_to_gdrive` transfers from buckets writable by less-trusted principals.

• Potential unauthorized access to sensitive data in Google Drive
• Possible data exposure or manipulation through injected search expressions
• Need for verification and remediation to prevent exploitation
• Potential impact on data integrity and confidentiality

Technical summary

Apache Airflow's Google provider builds Google Drive search expressions by interpolating file and folder names directly into single-quoted string literals, without escaping the quote character that delimits them. This allows for injection of search expressions, potentially leading to unauthorized access or data exposure. The names are frequently not written by the Dag author. In a wildcard `gcs_to_gdrive` transfer they come from the source bucket listing, so anyone able to create objects in that bucket controls them — typically an external data producer or an ingest-only service account, a different trust principal from the Dag author. An injected clause can broaden the match and so steer which file or folder

Defensive priority

Defenders should prioritize verifying and upgrading to apache-airflow-providers-google version 22.6.0 or later, especially for deployments using wildcard `gcs_to_gdrive` transfers from buckets writable by less-trusted principals.

Recommended defensive actions

• Verify and upgrade to apache-airflow-providers-google version 22.6.0 or later
• Review and restrict access to buckets used in wildcard `gcs_to_gdrive` transfers
• Monitor for suspicious activity in Google Drive and Airflow logs
• Confirm whether affected product deployments exist in managed environments and assign an owner for follow-up
• Review the supplied official advisory or CVE record to validate affected scope, severity, and vendor guidance
• Plan vendor-supported updates or mitigations through normal change control where exposure is confirmed
• Check relevant monitoring, detection, and logs for exposed assets that need extra review

Evidence notes

The CVE record and source item provide details on the vulnerability in Apache Airflow's Google provider, which allows for injection of Google Drive search expressions. The source item is from osv_dev and provides additional context on the vulnerability.

Sources and references

Methodology and review provenance

AI-assisted synthesis based on stored public vulnerability evidence. System validation, approval state, and publication status do not by themselves establish human review of this revision. PatchSiren helps prioritize defensive review and does not prove exposure or remediation on any system.