N8n: Duplicate Advisory: External Secrets Permission Bypass via Expression Parser Mismatch
n8n before versions 1.123.61, 2.27.4, and 2.28.1 contains a permission bypass vulnerability related to external secrets handling. The issue arises from a mismatch between static validation and the runtime expression engine, allowing authenticated users with credential create or update permissions—but without externalSecret:list scope—to embed external secret references undetected. These references resolve during workflow execution, exposing secret values the user should not access. This vulnerability affects only instances with an external secrets provider configured and Advanced Permissions enabled. The advisory is a duplicate and has been withdrawn in favor of GHSA-jp7m-xcgx-57qm.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
The vulnerability in n8n versions prior to 1.123.61, 2.27.4, and 2.28.1 involves a permission bypass in external secrets handling. A mismatch between the static validation check and the runtime expression engine allows an authenticated user with limited permissions to embed external secret references into credentials in a way that bypasses static detection. These references are resolved at workflow execution time, exposing secret values without proper authorization. This issue requires that an external secrets provider is configured and that Advanced Permissions are in use. The advisory is marked as a duplicate and withdrawn, pointing to GHSA-jp7m-xcgx-57qm for the original details.
Potential Impact
An authenticated user with credential create or update permissions but lacking externalSecret:list scope can gain unauthorized access to secret values by embedding external secret references that bypass static validation and are resolved at runtime. This leads to exposure of sensitive secrets that should be protected, potentially compromising confidentiality within affected n8n instances configured with external secrets and Advanced Permissions.
Mitigation Recommendations
The advisory is a duplicate and withdrawn; refer to the original advisory GHSA-jp7m-xcgx-57qm for remediation details. Versions 1.123.61, 2.27.4, and 2.28.1 of n8n address this vulnerability. Users should upgrade to at least these versions to mitigate the issue. No patch links are provided in this advisory, so verify patch availability and remediation status in the original vendor advisory. Since this is not a cloud service, remediation depends on user upgrades.
N8n: Duplicate Advisory: External Secrets Permission Bypass via Expression Parser Mismatch
Description
n8n before versions 1.123.61, 2.27.4, and 2.28.1 contains a permission bypass vulnerability related to external secrets handling. The issue arises from a mismatch between static validation and the runtime expression engine, allowing authenticated users with credential create or update permissions—but without externalSecret:list scope—to embed external secret references undetected. These references resolve during workflow execution, exposing secret values the user should not access. This vulnerability affects only instances with an external secrets provider configured and Advanced Permissions enabled. The advisory is a duplicate and has been withdrawn in favor of GHSA-jp7m-xcgx-57qm.
CVSS v4.0
Affected software
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Weaknesses
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
The vulnerability in n8n versions prior to 1.123.61, 2.27.4, and 2.28.1 involves a permission bypass in external secrets handling. A mismatch between the static validation check and the runtime expression engine allows an authenticated user with limited permissions to embed external secret references into credentials in a way that bypasses static detection. These references are resolved at workflow execution time, exposing secret values without proper authorization. This issue requires that an external secrets provider is configured and that Advanced Permissions are in use. The advisory is marked as a duplicate and withdrawn, pointing to GHSA-jp7m-xcgx-57qm for the original details.
Potential Impact
An authenticated user with credential create or update permissions but lacking externalSecret:list scope can gain unauthorized access to secret values by embedding external secret references that bypass static validation and are resolved at runtime. This leads to exposure of sensitive secrets that should be protected, potentially compromising confidentiality within affected n8n instances configured with external secrets and Advanced Permissions.
Mitigation Recommendations
The advisory is a duplicate and withdrawn; refer to the original advisory GHSA-jp7m-xcgx-57qm for remediation details. Versions 1.123.61, 2.27.4, and 2.28.1 of n8n address this vulnerability. Users should upgrade to at least these versions to mitigate the issue. No patch links are provided in this advisory, so verify patch availability and remediation status in the original vendor advisory. Since this is not a cloud service, remediation depends on user upgrades.
Technical Details
- Gcve Source
- db.gcve.eu
- Osv Id
- GHSA-q6mx-qvhp-fqmg
- Osv Schema Version
- 1.4.0
- Aliases
- []
- Ecosystems
- ["npm"]
- Database Specific Severity
- MODERATE
- Cvss Version
- 4.0
Threat ID: 6a6150ca9c2644c7f8da00b7
Added to database: 07/22/2026, 23:22:50 UTC
Last enriched: 07/22/2026, 23:26:30 UTC
Last updated: 07/31/2026, 19:24:51 UTC
Views: 8
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