# [CRIT] [GHSA / CRITICAL] CVE-2026-50203: Apache Airflow SFTP provider: Path traversal in SFTPHook.retrieve_directory

**Source:** GitHub Security Advisories
**Published:** 2026-06-17
**Article:** https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-qf38-jq28-3ccq

## Threat Profile

Apache Airflow SFTP provider: Path traversal in SFTPHook.retrieve_directory

A path traversal in the SFTP provider (`SFTPHook.retrieve_directory` / `SFTPOperator(operation=get)`) let a malicious or compromised remote SFTP server write files outside the configured local destination directory via crafted directory-entry names. No Airflow account is required — the attack surface is any deployment downloading directories from an untrusted SFTP server. Upgrade `apache-airflow-providers-sftp` to 5.8.1…

## Indicators of Compromise (high-fidelity only)

- **CVE:** `CVE-2026-50203`

## MITRE ATT&CK Techniques

- **T1190** — Exploit Public-Facing Application

## Kill chain phases observed

_(none detected from narrative keywords)_

## Recommended hunts

### IOC-driven hunts (use shared templates)

These are standard IOC-substitution hunts — the canonical SPL and KQL live once in [`_TEMPLATES.md`](../_TEMPLATES.md), so we don't repeat the same boilerplate on every CVE / hash / network-IOC briefing.

- **Asset exposure — vulnerability matches article CVE(s)** ([template](../_TEMPLATES.md#asset-exposure)) — phase: **recon**, confidence: **High**
  - CVE(s): `CVE-2026-50203`


## Why this matters

Severity classified as **CRIT** based on: CVE present, 1 use case(s) fired, 1 technique(s) inferred. Read the full article for actor attribution, tooling details, and any defanged IOCs in the body that aren't visible in the RSS summary.