CVE-2026-33722
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 2.6.4 and 1.123.23, an authenticated user without permission to list external secrets could reference a secret by the external name in a credential and retrieve its plaintext value when saving the credential. This bypassed the `externalSecret:list` permission check and allowed access to secrets stored in connected vaults without admin or owner privileges. This issue requires the instance to have an external secrets vault configured. The attacker must know or be able to guess the name of a target secret. The issue has been fixed in n8n versions 1.123.23 and 2.6.4. Users should upgrade to one of these versions or later to remediate the vulnerability. If upgrading is not immediately possible, administrators should consider the following temporary mitigations: Restrict n8n access to fully trusted users only, and/or disable external secrets integration until the patch can be applied. These workarounds do not fully remediate the risk and should only be used as short-term mitigation measures.
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 confidenceAn authenticated user without the `externalSecret:list` permission could bypass authorization by referencing an external secret by name in a credential, enabling plaintext retrieval of secrets from connected vaults without proper admin or owner privileges. This is a vertical privilege escalation affecting the external secrets integration.
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< 1.123.23>= 2.0.0, < 2.6.4CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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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Check installed n8n versionLocate the n8n version in the UI (footer of any page) or via API call to /rest/settings, or check package.json if self-hostedAffected if Version is below 1.123.23 OR between 2.0.0 and 2.6.4 (exclusive)
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Verify external secrets integration is in useCheck n8n settings under Secret Management or review environment variables for EXTERNAL_SECRETS_* configuration (e.g., EXTERNAL_SECRETS_MODE, EXTERNAL_SECRETS_VAULT_URL)Affected if External secrets feature is enabled and at least one vault is connected
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Identify credentials using external secretsReview all credentials in n8n: go to Credentials section and examine each credential type (especially HTTP Request, custom integrations) for fields that reference external secrets by name rather than selecting from listAffected if Any credentials reference external secrets directly by name string instead of using the permission-gated selection list
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Review externalSecret:list permission enforcementTest by creating a test user without externalSecret:list permission and attempt to use a credential that references an external secret by name - observe if secrets are retrieved in plaintextAffected if User without externalSecret:list permission can successfully retrieve secret values by referencing secret name in credential
You are affected if running a vulnerable n8n version (less than 1.123.23 or 2.0.0-2.6.4) AND the external secrets integration is enabled with credentials referencing secrets by name, allowing unauthorized plaintext secret retrieval.
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 · scoped1.123.232.6.4
Upgrade to n8n versions 1.123.23 or 2.6.4 or later; if immediate patching is not feasible, restrict access to fully trusted users and/or temporarily disable external secrets integration as short-term mitigations.
n8n 1.123.23 (for 1.x line) or n8n 2.6.4 (for 2.x line)
- 1. Identify the current n8n version running in your environment (check via n8n UI or CLI)
- 2. If running version < 1.123.23 on the 1.x line, plan upgrade to version 1.123.23 or later
- 3. If running version >= 2.0.0 and < 2.6.4 on the 2.x line, plan upgrade to version 2.6.4 or later
- 4. Before upgrading, back up your n8n database and configuration
- 5. Review the n8n release notes for the target version for any breaking changes specific to your setup
- 6. Perform the upgrade following standard n8n upgrade procedures for your deployment method (Docker, npm, etc.)
- 7. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the n8n version and testing credential save functionality
- 8. As a temporary mitigation until upgrade is possible, restrict access to trusted users only and/or disable external secrets integration in settings
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 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-2026-33722 — 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-2026-33722 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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