n8n is an open source workflow automation platform. Prior to versions 2.6.4 and 1.123.23, an authenticated user without permission to list external secrets could reference a secret by the external name in a credential and retrieve its plaintext value when saving the credential. This bypassed the `externalSecret:list` permission check and allowed access to secrets stored in connected vaults without admin or owner privileges. This issue requires the instance to have an external secrets vault configured. The attacker must know or be able to guess the name of a target secret. The issue has been fixed in n8n versions 1.123.23 and 2.6.4. Users should upgrade to one of these versions or later to remediate the vulnerability. If upgrading is not immediately possible, administrators should consider the following temporary mitigations: Restrict n8n access to fully trusted users only, and/or disable external secrets integration until the patch can be applied. These workarounds do not fully remediate the risk and should only be used as short-term mitigation measures.
This vulnerability carries a MEDIUM severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 5.3, indicating it can be exploited remotely over the network but requires specific conditions to be met without requiring user interaction requiring only low-level privileges . The vulnerability impacts confidentiality (data exposure), for affected systems. Impacting 1 product from n8n organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.
Reported in 2026, this vulnerability emerged during an era marked by increased sophistication in supply chain attacks, cloud infrastructure vulnerabilities, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) security challenges. Security practices during this period emphasized zero-trust architectures, container security, and API protection.
2026-03-25T19:16:51.153
2026-03-27T19:34:18.007
Analyzed
CVSSv3.1: 5.3 (MEDIUM)
| Type | Vendor | Product | Version/Range | Vulnerable? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Application | n8n | n8n | < 1.123.23 | Yes |
| Application | n8n | n8n | < 2.6.4 | Yes |
SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For n8n's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.