Summary
n8n: AI Agents Project Viewer Privilege Escalation via runnodetool
Workarounds
If upgrading is not immediately possible, administrators should consider the following temporary mitigations:
- Disable the AI Agents module by removing
agentsfrom theN8N_ENABLED_MODULESenvironment variable. - Restrict project membership to fully trusted users only, and avoid granting Project Viewer access to untrusted users on projects containing agents with node tools enabled.
- Disable command-execution nodes (e.g. Execute Command, SSH) if they have been re-enabled, to limit the potential impact.
These workarounds do not fully remediate the risk and should only be used as short-term mitigation measures.
Impact
In n8n's AI Agents feature, a user with the read-only Project Viewer role could escalate their privileges by chatting with an agent that has node tools enabled. The agent's node-execution tool was authorized only by the agent:execute scope and ran nodes using the project's credentials, without verifying that the requesting user was permitted to execute nodes or to access those credentials.
As a result, a Project Viewer could execute arbitrary tool nodes on the server and use credential secrets they were not authorized to read, gaining execution capabilities their role is intended to deny. On instances where a command- or file-capable tool node (such as Execute Command or SSH) is enabled, this could be extended to arbitrary command execution on the n8n host.
Users of the AI Agents feature who share team projects with lower-privileged members are affected.
The application does not correctly enforce access controls, allowing a principal to access resources or operations beyond their granted permissions. Typical impact: unauthorized data access or execution of privileged operations.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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The issue has been fixed in n8n versions 2.29.8 and 2.30.1. Users should upgrade to one of these versions or later to remediate the vulnerability.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2026-65015? CVE-2026-65015 is a high-severity incorrect authorization vulnerability in n8n (npm), affecting versions >= 2.30.0, < 2.30.1. It is fixed in 2.30.1, 2.29.8. The application does not correctly enforce access controls, allowing a principal to access resources or operations beyond their granted permissions.
- Which versions of n8n are affected by CVE-2026-65015? n8n (npm) versions >= 2.30.0, < 2.30.1 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2026-65015? Yes. CVE-2026-65015 is fixed in 2.30.1, 2.29.8. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2026-65015 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-65015 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2026-65015 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
- How do I fix CVE-2026-65015?
- Upgrade
n8nto 2.30.1 or later - Upgrade
n8nto 2.29.8 or later
- Upgrade