CVE-2024-25141
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in Apache Airflow's MongoDB hook allows SSL/TLS certificate validation to be disabled by default when SSL is enabled, enabling man-in-the-middle attacks. It affects Apache Airflow installations using MongoDB connections with SSL enabled. Attackers could intercept and manipulate database communications.
💻 Affected Systems
- Apache Airflow
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Full database compromise including data theft, data manipulation, and potential lateral movement to connected systems.
Likely Case
Interception of sensitive database credentials and data, leading to data breach and potential privilege escalation.
If Mitigated
Limited to network segments with strict access controls and certificate pinning implementations.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires network access to intercept SSL/TLS connections to MongoDB. No authentication bypass needed beyond network positioning.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 4.0.0
Vendor Advisory: https://lists.apache.org/thread/sqgbfqngjmn45ommmrgj7hvs7fgspsgm
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Backup current Airflow configuration and databases. 2. Upgrade Apache Airflow to version 4.0.0 or later using pip: 'pip install --upgrade apache-airflow==4.0.0'. 3. Restart all Airflow services including scheduler, webserver, and workers. 4. Verify SSL connections to MongoDB now properly validate certificates.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Explicitly disable allow_insecure
allManually set allow_insecure=False in MongoDB connection configuration when SSL is enabled.
In Airflow connection configuration for MongoDB, ensure 'allow_insecure' parameter is explicitly set to False when SSL is enabled.
Disable SSL for MongoDB connections
allTemporarily disable SSL for MongoDB connections until patching is possible.
In Airflow connection configuration for MongoDB, set SSL parameter to False.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement network segmentation to isolate Airflow instances from untrusted networks
- Use certificate pinning or custom CA validation in MongoDB connection configuration
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Airflow version with 'airflow version' and verify if MongoDB connections have SSL enabled with default allow_insecure settings.Check Version:
airflow versionVerify Fix Applied:
After upgrade, verify version is 4.0.0+ and test MongoDB SSL connections fail with invalid certificates.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Failed SSL certificate validation warnings in Airflow logs
- Unexpected MongoDB connection patterns
Network Indicators:
- Unencrypted MongoDB traffic despite SSL configuration
- SSL/TLS handshake anomalies
SIEM Query:
source="airflow" AND ("SSL" OR "certificate" OR "MongoDB") AND ("failed" OR "warning" OR "insecure")🔗 References
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/02/20/5
- https://github.com/apache/airflow/pull/37214
- https://lists.apache.org/thread/sqgbfqngjmn45ommmrgj7hvs7fgspsgm
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/02/20/5
- https://github.com/apache/airflow/pull/37214
- https://lists.apache.org/thread/sqgbfqngjmn45ommmrgj7hvs7fgspsgm
