CVE-2025-57749 is a symlink traversal vulnerability identified in the n8n workflow automation platform, specifically affecting versions prior to 1.106.0. The vulnerability resides in the Read/Write File node, which is designed to restrict access to sensitive directories and files. However, it improperly handles symbolic links (symlinks), allowing an attacker who can create symlinks—potentially via the Execute Command node—to bypass these directory restrictions. This enables unauthorized reading from or writing to file system paths that should otherwise be inaccessible. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-59 (Improper Link Resolution Before File Access), which typically involves the failure to properly resolve symbolic links before accessing files, leading to unauthorized file system access. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 6.5 (medium severity), with the vector indicating network attack vector (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), requiring privileges (PR:L), no user interaction (UI:N), unchanged scope (S:U), high confidentiality impact (C:H), no integrity impact (I:N), and no availability impact (A:N). Notably, users of the n8n.cloud managed service are not affected. The vulnerability does not currently have known exploits in the wild. Exploitation requires an attacker to have some level of privileges within the n8n environment to create symlinks, but once exploited, it can lead to significant confidentiality breaches by exposing sensitive files outside the intended scope of the Read/Write File node. The issue was publicly disclosed on August 20, 2025, and remediation is available by upgrading to version 1.106.0 or later.

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.

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.