n8n Local Gateway CVE-2026-118677

Exploitation requires that the victim have the n8n Local Gateway desktop app (the Computer Use feature) installed, running, and already paired, and that the victim actively open an attacker-crafted n8n-computer-use:// deep link (UI:A) - this active user interaction is the primary limiting factor. Exposure is widened by the default wildcard 'allowedOrigins' setting, which does not restrict which instance the gateway will pair with; narrowing allowedOrigins to the specific paired instance URL reduces the risk. The flaw affects n8n before 2.41.4 and 2.42.x before 2.42.1. The deep-link connect handler re-pairs without a confirmation prompt, and previously granted permissions carry over to the new (attacker) instance.

This is a moderate, user-interaction-dependent risk rather than a drop-everything emergency, and the signals are internally consistent. The CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:A) shows a network-reachable, unauthenticated flaw that nonetheless requires active user interaction (UI:A) and carries an attack requirement (AT:P) - namely that the victim already has the Local Gateway desktop app installed, running, and paired. Impact is weighted toward confidentiality (VC:H) with limited integrity (VI:L) and limited subsequent-system effect (SC:L/SI:L), reflecting that re-pairing lets an attacker act on the victim's computer through the gateway. No KEV listing, no EPSS score, and no PoC/exploit reference are present in the input - only vendor (GHSA) and VulnCheck advisories - so there is no evidence of active exploitation or public exploit code. The vuln.today decision label is 'this_month', not 'act_now' or 'emergency', aligning with the CVSS base of 5.9 (medium). Note one data-quality tension: the sole tag is 'Information Disclosure', but CWE-939 (improper authorization in a custom URL-scheme handler) and the described ability to 'act on the computer through the gateway' describe an authorization/takeover issue broader than pure information disclosure - treat the tag as under-describing the impact. Overall: a real but conditional social-engineering-gated risk, appropriate for patching within the normal cycle rather than as an out-of-band fire drill.

An attacker hosts or emails a page containing a crafted n8n-computer-use:// deep link and lures a victim who is running the Local Gateway desktop app into clicking it. The link silently re-pairs the gateway to the attacker-controlled n8n instance, carrying over permissions the user already granted, so the attacker can then act on the victim's computer through the gateway. No public exploit identified at time of analysis; exploitation hinges on the victim opening the link (UI:A).