Role-based access control (RBAC) in Apache Airflow - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

🧠 Conceptual

intermediate

Understanding Airflow RBAC Roles

In Apache Airflow's RBAC system, which role has the ability to create and edit DAGs but cannot manage users or roles?

A Op

B User

C Admin

D Viewer

💡 Hint

Think about roles that allow operational control but restrict user management.

The Op role in Airflow RBAC allows users to create and edit DAGs but does not grant permissions to manage users or roles. The Admin role has full permissions, User can trigger DAGs but not edit, and Viewer can only view.

💻 Command Output

intermediate

Output of Airflow RBAC User Creation Command

What is the output of the following command when creating a new Airflow user with RBAC enabled? airflow users create --username testuser --firstname Test --lastname User --role Viewer --email [e-mail]

Apache Airflow

airflow users create --username testuser --firstname Test --lastname User --role Viewer --email [e-mail]

A Syntax error: missing required argument

B Error: Role Viewer does not exist

C User testuser already exists

D User testuser created successfully

💡 Hint

Assuming the Viewer role exists and the username is new.

If the role exists and the username is not taken, Airflow confirms user creation with a success message.

❓ Configuration

advanced

Configuring Airflow to Enable RBAC

Which configuration change in airflow.cfg enables the RBAC UI and security features?

Apache Airflow

[webserver]
# What should be set to True to enable RBAC?

A enable_rbac = True

B rbac_enabled = True

C rbac = True

D webserver_rbac = True

💡 Hint

Check the official Airflow configuration for the webserver section.

The correct setting is rbac = True under the [webserver] section to enable RBAC UI and security.

❓ Troubleshoot

advanced

Troubleshooting Airflow RBAC Permission Denied Error

A user with the 'User' role tries to access the Airflow Admin panel but gets a '403 Forbidden' error. What is the most likely cause?

A The 'User' role does not have permission to access the Admin panel

B The Airflow webserver is not running

C The user's password has expired

D The Airflow database is corrupted

💡 Hint

Consider what permissions the 'User' role typically has.

The 'User' role in Airflow RBAC does not have admin panel access permissions, causing the 403 error.

🔀 Workflow

expert

Sequence to Add a New RBAC Role with Custom Permissions

What is the correct order of steps to add a new custom role with specific permissions in Airflow RBAC?

A 2,1,3,4

B 1,2,3,4

C 1,3,2,4

D 3,1,2,4

💡 Hint

Think about the logical UI navigation flow.

You must first log in as Admin, then go to the roles list, add a new role, and finally assign permissions before saving.