n8n: Shared-Workflow Editor Can Exfiltrate Credentials via Inline Sub-Workflow JSON
n8n
- Severity
- High, CVSS 7.2
- CVSS vector
- CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:H/SI:H/SA:L
- Record
- GHSA-cj9h-qx8g-pq2g
- Affects
- n8n
- Known exploited
- Not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
- Published
- Record first published by the source
- July 22, 2026
- Source last modified
- July 22, 2026
Description
Impact
n8n's credential-access checks validated only a node's top-level credentials, not credentials referenced inside an Execute Sub-workflow node's inline workflow JSON. A member with editor access to a shared workflow could reference a credential they were not permitted to use inside that inline JSON; it passed both save-time and runtime validation and resolved in the parent workflow's project context, letting the member use or exfiltrate a credential they could not otherwise access.
Exploitation requires workflow sharing to be enabled and the attacker to have been explicitly granted Editor access to a shared workflow. The attacker must also know the target credential's ID.
Patches
The issue has been fixed in n8n versions 1.123.67, 2.31.5, and 2.32.1. Users should upgrade to one of these versions or later to remediate the vulnerability.
Workarounds
If upgrading is not immediately possible, administrators should consider the following temporary mitigations: - Restrict workflow sharing to fully trusted users only, and avoid granting Editor access to untrusted members on workflows that use sensitive credentials. - Audit shared workflows for Execute Sub-workflow nodes with Source = "Parameter" and review their inline workflow definitions for unexpected credential references. - Restrict network egress from the n8n instance to prevent connections to attacker-controlled endpoints.
These workarounds do not fully remediate the risk and should only be used as short-term mitigation measures.
Description quoted from the GitHub Advisory Database.
Who is affected
n8n is a tool for automating tasks by linking apps and services into workflows. This flaw affects setups where workflow sharing is turned on. Someone who has been given Editor access to a shared workflow, and who knows the ID of a saved login or key (a credential), can place a reference to that credential inside a building block that runs another workflow written out within the main one. n8n's access checks miss it, so that person can use or steal a credential they are not allowed to use. This flaw is rated High.
What to do
- Whoever installed or runs n8n for your organization should upgrade to version
1.123.67,2.31.5or2.32.1, or a later version. - If an IT provider or vendor runs n8n for you, send them this advisory and ask when the update will be done.
- Until you can upgrade, share workflows only with fully trusted users, and do not give Editor access to untrusted members on workflows that use sensitive credentials.
- Also review shared workflows that run another workflow written out inline (Source set to "Parameter") for unexpected credential references. Restrict outgoing network connections from n8n so it cannot reach attacker-controlled systems.
- These short-term steps do not fully remove the risk, so upgrading is the real fix.
Analysis written from the source record as of July 22, 2026 and reviewed before publishing.