Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessObtain editor access to a shared workflow
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DeliveryAdd Execute Sub-workflow node with source url/localFile
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ExploitPoint node at attacker-served sub-workflow content
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ExecutionSub-workflow resolves restricted project credentials
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ImpactReceive decrypted credential values
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V8 - Authorization Authorization logic validation
MITRE ATT&CK
1 technique across 1 tactic: Privilege Escalation The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires an authenticated user holding EDITOR rights on a SHARED workflow (consistent with PR:L), and the ability to serve sub-workflow content the n8n process can fetch - either a reachable URL or a local file. The specific trigger is configuring the Execute Sub-workflow node with source 'url' or 'localFile' so that content loaded at run time (which the save-time credential guard never inspects) resolves the project's credentials. Limiting factors: the attacker must already have shared-workflow editor access (not anonymous/remote-unauthenticated), the n8n process must be able to reach the attacker-served URL or file, and fully-trusted-only editor populations eliminate the practical threat. Vendor mitigations: restrict instance access and editor rights to fully trusted users, audit/remove Execute Sub-workflow nodes using source url/localFile, and apply network controls preventing the n8n process from reaching attacker-controlled infrastructure - these are partial and do not fully remediate; upgrading to 1.123.85, 2.43.5, or 2.44.1 (or later) is the complete fix. |
| Impact | This is a moderate-severity, insider-oriented authorization flaw rather than a mass-exploitation emergency. The vendor CVSS 4.0 vector scores 5.1 (medium) with AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N: network-reachable but requiring low-level authenticated privilege (PR:L, an editor of a shared workflow) plus an attack requirement (AT:P, the attacker must be able to serve sub-workflow content and operate within the shared-workflow editing flow). The defining signal is SC:H - a subsequent-system confidentiality impact: decrypted project credentials the editor was never authorized to use are returned to them, a genuine scope/trust-boundary break (CWE-863, improper authorization). Exploitation signals are weak-to-absent: no CISA KEV entry, no EPSS probability supplied in the input, and no public exploit identified at time of analysis (the two references are the GHSA and VulnCheck advisories, not PoC code). The vuln.today decision label is 'this_month', consistent with these signals - not act_now or emergency. Net: real priority for organizations that grant workflow-editing access to partially-trusted users (the threat model is a malicious or compromised editor escalating to steal credentials), but low urgency where n8n editors are all fully trusted. No key signals are internally contradictory; EPSS is simply not provided, so widespread-automated-exploitation likelihood cannot be quantified from the input. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | A user with editor rights to a shared workflow adds an Execute Sub-workflow node configured with source 'url' or 'localFile' pointing to content they control. Because n8n's save-time credential guard never inspects externally-loaded sub-workflow content, the served sub-workflow resolves the project's restricted credentials and returns their decrypted values to the editor. No public exploit code was identified at time of analysis; exploitation requires only authenticated editor access and the ability to host a file or URL the n8n process can reach. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 28, 2026
Credential disclosure in n8n allows an authenticated user with editor rights on a shared workflow to bypass the save-time credential guard and cause the workflow project's credentials to be resolved and returned in decrypted form. The flaw affects the npm package n8n before 1.123.85, before 2.43.5, and before 2.44.1, and is rated moderate severity (CVSS 4.0 score 5.1; assessed CVSS 3.1 vector AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N). Exploitation is not anonymous: it requires shared-workflow editor access and the ability to serve sub-workflow content that the n8n process can fetch from a URL or local file; no public exploit was identified at time of analysis, and the available assessment characterizes this as an insider-oriented authorization weakness rather than a mass-exploitation emergency.
RemediationAI
Upgrade n8n to 1.123.85, 2.43.5, 2.44.1, or later; these are the vendor-released fixed versions and upgrading is the complete remediation. If upgrading is not immediately possible, the vendor's temporary mitigations are to restrict n8n instance access to fully trusted users, audit shared workflows for Execute Sub-workflow nodes using source: url or source: localFile and remove or restrict them, remove editor access from users who are not fully trusted, and apply network-level controls preventing the n8n process from reaching attacker-controlled infrastructure where outbound HTTP cannot be fully restricted. These workarounds are partial and should only be used as short-term measures. See https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n/security/advisories/GHSA-8crx-5h96-q72q and https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/n8n-before-1.123.85-2.43.5-and-2.44.1-credential-guard-bypass-via-execute-sub-workflow.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
n8n is a workflow automation platform distributed as the npm package n8n. The Execute Sub-workflow node can load a sub-workflow at run time from a URL (source: url) or a local file (source: localFile), so that content is not part of the workflow definition n8n validates when a shared workflow is saved. The credential guard therefore never inspects credentials referenced by the dynamically loaded content, an incorrect authorization and access-control flaw (CWE-863) that lets a shared-workflow editor have the workflow project's credentials resolved and receive their decrypted values. The CVSS 4.0 vector records network attack, low privileges, no user interaction, attack requirements present (AT:P), and a scoped change (S:C); the independent assessment maps this to CVSS 3.1 AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N, with the practical preconditions being shared-workflow editor access and reachability of the attacker-served URL or local file by the n8n process.
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Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:H/SI:L/SA:N
Authenticated editor (PR:L) over the network (AV:N); the shared-workflow editing precondition maps to AC:H; S:C and C:H because restricted project credentials beyond the editor's authority are disclosed, with no integrity/availability impact.
Primary rating from Vendor (vulncheck).
CVSS VectorVendor: vulncheck
Lifecycle Timeline
1DescriptionCVE.org
n8n before 1.123.85, 2.43.5, and 2.44.1 contains a credential guard bypass vulnerability that allows editors of shared workflows to use restricted credentials by loading sub-workflows from URLs or local files. Attackers can configure the Execute Sub-workflow node with source url or localFile to serve content that resolves project credentials and returns their decrypted values.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Authentication bypass attacks exploit flaws in the verification mechanisms that control access to systems and applications.
Remote code execution in n8n's workflow expression evaluation system allows an authenticated user with workflow creation
n8n workflow automation (through 1.121.2) allows authenticated users to execute arbitrary code via the n8n service, with
n8n workflow automation (1.65.0 to 1.121.0) allows unauthenticated file access through form-based workflows. A critical
n8n has a fifth critical RCE vulnerability (CVSS 9.9) in the Expression evaluator, enabling code execution through craft
Authenticated users who can create or modify an n8n workflow can achieve remote code execution on the n8n host by abusin
A prototype pollution vulnerability in the XML and GSuiteAdmin nodes of n8n workflow automation platform allows authenti
An authenticated user with workflow creation or modification privileges in n8n workflow automation platform can exploit
n8n-workflows Main Commit ee25413 allows attackers to execute a directory traversal via the download_workflow function w
Authenticated n8n users can hijack administrator accounts when LDAP authentication is enabled by manipulating their LDAP
The n8n package 0.218.0 for Node.js allows Escalation of Privileges. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability
SQL injection in n8n's Data Table Get node allows authenticated users with workflow modification permissions to execute
Authenticated users can exploit string formatting and exception handling in n8n's Python task executor to escape sandbox
EUVD-2026-112381
GHSA-2269-xj9w-g6jh
NVD
CVE.org
Exploit-DB