n8n: Expression Sandbox Escape via Shared Builtin Tampering and Code-Printer Injection Leads to Code Execution
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Attack requirements
- Present
- Impact type
- Code execution
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and GitHub. Impact type from CWE-94.
Summary
n8n is an open source workflow automation platform. Prior to 1.123.76, 2.37.7, and 2.38.2, the legacy expression engine generated source text by calling the mutable global JSON.stringify while printing synthetic string literals and interpolating timezone data. An expression could replace JSON.stringify and cause later generated source to contain executable attacker-controlled code. The affected code-generation paths include packages/@n8n/expression-runtime/src/bridge/isolated-vm-bridge.ts and packages/@n8n/tournament/src/ExpressionBuilder.ts, and the issue does not affect the vm expression engine. This issue is fixed in versions 1.123.76, 2.37.7 and 2.38.2.
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 | 2.38.0 to before 2.38.2; 2.0.0 to before 2.37.7; before 1.123.76 | 2.38.2, 2.37.7, 1.123.76 | Patch available | CNA |
| — | n8n (npm) | before 1.123.76 | 1.123.76 | Patch available | GHSA-6xcw-7xm6-48c6 |
| — | n8n (npm) | 2.38.0 to before 2.38.2 | 2.38.2 | Patch available | GHSA-6xcw-7xm6-48c6 |
| — | n8n (npm) | 2.0.0 to before 2.37.7 | 2.37.7 | Patch available | GHSA-6xcw-7xm6-48c6 |
- n8n Vendorn8n Affected 2.38.0 to before 2.38.2; 2.0.0 to before 2.37.7; before 1.123.76 Fixed in 2.38.2, 2.37.7, 1.123.76 Patch available CNA
- n8n (npm) Vendor— Affected before 1.123.76 Fixed in 1.123.76 Patch available GHSA-6xcw-7xm6-48c6
- n8n (npm) Vendor— Affected 2.38.0 to before 2.38.2 Fixed in 2.38.2 Patch available GHSA-6xcw-7xm6-48c6
- n8n (npm) Vendor— Affected 2.0.0 to before 2.37.7 Fixed in 2.37.7 Patch available GHSA-6xcw-7xm6-48c6
Remediation
- Fix · CNA n8n (n8n-io) Fixed in 2.38.2, 2.37.7, 1.123.76
- Fix · GHSA-6xcw-7xm6-48c6 n8n (npm) Fixed in 1.123.76 Advisory →
- Fix · GHSA-6xcw-7xm6-48c6 n8n (npm) Fixed in 2.38.2 Advisory →
- Fix · GHSA-6xcw-7xm6-48c6 n8n (npm) Fixed in 2.37.7 Advisory →
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-86083
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-6xcw-7xm6-48c6
- 2026-10-05 EPSS moved to the 50th–90th percentile
References
Advisory 2
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-2026-86083 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-86083 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-6xcw-7xm6-48c6 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
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