CVE-2025-57749VulnerabilityPublished 20 Aug 2025

CVE-2025-57749: n8n · Link Following

Affects n8nSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.5 Medium : upgrade to 1.106.0 when convenient.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

6.5Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 41% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 1.106.0

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: None
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 20 Aug 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-25.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade n8n to 1.106.0.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
n8n-io n8n	Affected <1.106.0	Fixed in 1.106.0

AI-suggested

1. Immediate upgrade to n8n version 1.106.0 or later to apply the patch that properly handles symlink resolution in the Read/Write File node. 2. Restrict the use of the Execute Command node or limit its permissions to trusted users only, as it can be leveraged to create symlinks and exploit the vulnerability. 3. Implement strict role-based access control (RBAC) within n8n to minimize the number of users who can create or modify workflows that include file system access nodes. 4. Monitor and audit workflow executions and file system access logs for unusual activity, particularly creation of symlinks or access to sensitive directories. 5. Employ file system permissions and containerization/isolation techniques to limit the impact of any potential symlink traversal attempts. 6. For organizations unable to immediately upgrade, consider disabling or restricting the Read/Write File node functionality temporarily. 7. Educate administrators and developers on secure workflow design to avoid unnecessary exposure of file system operations. 8. Regularly review and update incident response plans to include scenarios involving workflow automation platform compromises.

Description

n8n is a workflow automation platform. Before 1.106.0, a symlink traversal vulnerability was discovered in the Read/Write File node in n8n. While the node attempts to restrict access to sensitive directories and files, it does not properly account for symbolic links (symlinks). An attacker with the ability to create symlinks—such as by using the Execute Command node—could exploit this to bypass the intended directory restrictions and read from or write to otherwise inaccessible paths. Users of n8n.cloud are not impacted. Affected users should update to version 1.106.0 or later.

Impact

For European organizations utilizing n8n for workflow automation, this vulnerability poses a significant confidentiality risk. Attackers with limited privileges inside the n8n environment could escalate their access to sensitive files, potentially exposing confidential business data, credentials, or configuration files that could facilitate further compromise. Given that n8n is often used to automate business-critical processes, unauthorized file access could lead to data leakage, intellectual property theft, or exposure of personal data subject to GDPR regulations, thereby incurring regulatory penalties and reputational damage. The absence of integrity and availability impacts limits the scope of damage to confidentiality, but the ease of exploitation (low complexity) and network accessibility increase the risk profile. Since n8n is open-source and self-hosted by many organizations, the attack surface depends on the deployment environment and access controls. European organizations relying on self-hosted n8n instances without strict privilege separation or monitoring are particularly vulnerable. However, users of the n8n.cloud managed service are not impacted, reducing risk for organizations using the cloud offering.

CWE-59Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following') (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: MediumOWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an unintended resource.
Architecture and Design · Separation of Privilege
Follow the principle of least privilege when assigning access rights to entities in a software system.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Symlink Attack (opens in a new tab)
Using Malicious Files (opens in a new tab)
Leverage Executable Code in Non-Executable Files (opens in a new tab)
Manipulating Web Input to File System Calls (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 28 Aug 2025, 01:28 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-59

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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