n8n: LDAP Email-Based Account Linking Allows Privilege Escalation and Account Takeover
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Attack requirements
- Present
- Impact type
- Security bypass
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · None
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and GitHub. Impact type from CWE-287.
Summary
n8n is an open source workflow automation platform. Prior to versions 2.4.0 and 1.121.0, when LDAP authentication is enabled, n8n automatically linked an LDAP identity to an existing local account if the LDAP email attribute matched the local account's email. An authenticated LDAP user who could control their own LDAP email attribute could set it to match another user's email — including an administrator's — and upon login gain full access to that account. The account linkage persisted even if the LDAP email was later reverted, resulting in a permanent account takeover. LDAP authentication must be configured and active (non-default). The issue has been fixed in n8n versions 2.4.0 and 1.121.0. 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: Disable LDAP authentication until the instance can be upgraded, restrict LDAP directory permissions so that users cannot modify their own email attributes, and/or audit existing LDAP-linked accounts for unexpected account associations. These workarounds do not fully remediate the risk and should only be used as short-term mitigation measures.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n8n | n8n | before 1.121.0; 2.0.0-rc.0 to before 2.4.0 | 1.121.0, 2.4.0 | Patch available | CNA |
| — | n8n (npm) | 2.0.0-rc.0 to before 2.4.0 | 2.4.0 | Patch available | GHSA-c545-x2rh-82fc |
| — | n8n (npm) | before 1.121.0 | 1.121.0 | Patch available | GHSA-c545-x2rh-82fc |
- n8n Vendorn8n Affected before 1.121.0; 2.0.0-rc.0 to before 2.4.0 Fixed in 1.121.0, 2.4.0 Patch available CNA
- n8n (npm) Vendor— Affected 2.0.0-rc.0 to before 2.4.0 Fixed in 2.4.0 Patch available GHSA-c545-x2rh-82fc
- n8n (npm) Vendor— Affected before 1.121.0 Fixed in 1.121.0 Patch available GHSA-c545-x2rh-82fc
Remediation
- Fix · CNA n8n (n8n-io) Fixed in 1.121.0, 2.4.0
- Fix · GHSA-c545-x2rh-82fc n8n (npm) Fixed in 2.4.0 Advisory →
- Fix · GHSA-c545-x2rh-82fc n8n (npm) Fixed in 1.121.0 Advisory →
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-33665
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-c545-x2rh-82fc
References
More N8n vulnerabilities
- TI-2025-42131 n8n Vulnerable to Remote Code Execution via Expression Injection KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 10.0
- TI-2026-17560 n8n Vulnerable to Unauthenticated File Access via Improper Webhook Request Handling CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 10.0
- TI-2026-01167 Authenticated users can bypass the Expression sandbox mechanism to achieve full remote… CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.9
- TI-2026-00644 Sandbox escape in n8n Python task runner allows for arbitrary code execution on the underlying host. CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.9
- TI-2025-35293 An arbitrary file upload vulnerability in the Chat Trigger component of N8N v1.95.3… CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2023-12275 The n8n package 0.218.0 for Node.js allows Escalation of Privileges. CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
Sources
- CVE-2026-33665 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-33665 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-c545-x2rh-82fc · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences