CVE-2026-25049
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedn8n is an open source workflow automation platform. Prior to versions 1.123.17 and 2.5.2, an authenticated user with permission to create or modify workflows could abuse crafted expressions in workflow parameters to trigger unintended system command execution on the host running n8n. This issue has been patched in versions 1.123.17 and 2.5.2.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidencen8n workflow automation platform versions prior to 1.123.17 and 2.5.2 contain an expression injection vulnerability. Authenticated users with permissions to create or modify workflows can embed malicious expressions in workflow parameters that get evaluated with system-level privileges, leading to arbitrary command execution on the host.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data< 1.123.17>= 2.0.0, < 2.5.2CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the installed n8n versionAccess the n8n UI and look at the footer for the version number, or query the API endpoint /rest/version if available, or check the package.json file in the n8n installation directoryAffected if The installed version is less than 1.123.17, or is 2.0.0 through 2.5.1 (2.x branch)
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Verify workflow permissions configurationNavigate to the n8n settings or user management panel and review which roles have the ability to create or edit workflowsAffected if Non-administrator users or roles are granted workflow creation or modification permissions
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Review existing workflows for suspicious expressionsAccess the workflow list, open individual workflows, and inspect all node parameters for unexpected expression syntax such as $(), $env, or {{ }} that may contain system commands or environment variable referencesAffected if Any workflow contains expressions that reference system commands, environment variables, or external executables that were not intentionally created by a trusted administrator
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Check audit logs for workflow modificationsReview n8n audit or execution logs for recent workflow saves or modifications, focusing on entries that include expression evaluation or system-level operationsAffected if Recent workflow changes were made by users who should not have elevated privileges or contain unexpected evaluation patterns
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Confirm authentication is requiredVerify whether the n8n instance has authentication enabled for API access and user login, and whether anonymous user creation is permittedAffected if Anonymous or unauthenticated users can access the n8n instance and create workflows
You are affected if your n8n version is below 1.123.17 (1.x) or between 2.0.0 and 2.5.1 (2.x), AND untrusted users have workflow creation or modification permissions, OR suspicious expressions exist in any workflows.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scoped1.123.172.5.2
Upgrade n8n to version 1.123.17 or 2.5.2 immediately. Until patched, restrict workflow creation/modification permissions to trusted administrators only and audit existing workflows for suspicious expressions.
Upgrade to n8n version 1.123.17 (for 1.x users) or version 2.5.2 or later (for 2.x users)
- 1. Identify the current n8n version running in your environment
- 2. If running version 1.x (e.g., 1.123.0-1.123.16), plan upgrade to version 1.123.17 or later
- 3. If running version 2.x (e.g., 2.0.0-2.5.1), plan upgrade to version 2.5.2 or later
- 4. Before upgrading, review the n8n release notes for breaking changes between your current version and target version
- 5. Perform a backup of your workflows, credentials, and settings
- 6. Test the upgrade in a non-production environment first
- 7. Execute the upgrade following n8n's standard upgrade procedure (typically: stop n8n, install new version, restart n8n)
- 8. Verify that workflows function correctly after upgrade
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-25049 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-25049 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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