GHSA-Q6MX-QVHP-FQMG
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-07-15 12:32 – Updated: 2026-07-22 22:21Duplicate Advisory
This advisory has been withdrawn because it is a duplicate of GHSA-jp7m-xcgx-57qm. This link is maintained to preserve external references.
Original Description
n8n before versions 1.123.61, 2.27.4, and 2.28.1 contains a permission bypass vulnerability in external secrets handling caused by a mismatch between the static validation check and the runtime expression engine. An authenticated user with credential create or update permissions but without the externalSecret:list scope can embed external secret references into credentials in forms the static validation does not detect; these references resolve at workflow execution time, exposing secret values the user is not authorized to access. This issue only affects instances where an external secrets provider is configured and Advanced Permissions are in use.
{
"affected": [
{
"database_specific": {
"last_known_affected_version_range": "\u003c 1.123.61"
},
"package": {
"ecosystem": "npm",
"name": "n8n"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "0"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
]
}
],
"aliases": [],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-639"
],
"github_reviewed": true,
"github_reviewed_at": "2026-07-22T22:21:02Z",
"nvd_published_at": "2026-07-15T12:18:17Z",
"severity": "MODERATE"
},
"details": "## Duplicate Advisory\n\nThis advisory has been withdrawn because it is a duplicate of\u00a0GHSA-jp7m-xcgx-57qm. This link is maintained to preserve external references.\n\n## Original Description\nn8n before versions 1.123.61, 2.27.4, and 2.28.1 contains a permission bypass vulnerability in external secrets handling caused by a mismatch between the static validation check and the runtime expression engine. An authenticated user with credential create or update permissions but without the externalSecret:list scope can embed external secret references into credentials in forms the static validation does not detect; these references resolve at workflow execution time, exposing secret values the user is not authorized to access. This issue only affects instances where an external secrets provider is configured and Advanced Permissions are in use.",
"id": "GHSA-q6mx-qvhp-fqmg",
"modified": "2026-07-22T22:21:02Z",
"published": "2026-07-15T12:32:03Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n/security/advisories/GHSA-jp7m-xcgx-57qm"
},
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-59259"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/n8n-permission-bypass-via-expression-parser-mismatch-in-external-secrets"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
},
{
"score": "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X",
"type": "CVSS_V4"
}
],
"summary": "Duplicate Advisory: External Secrets Permission Bypass via Expression Parser Mismatch",
"withdrawn": "2026-07-22T22:21:02Z"
}
Sightings
| Author | Source | Type | Date | Other |
|---|
Nomenclature
- Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
- Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
- Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
- Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
- Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
The approach is described in our paper Mapping CVEs to MITRE ATT&CK Techniques: A Curated Gold-Set Classifier and the Limits of LLM-Assisted Label Expansion.