Summary
n8n: Anonymous Approval-Gate Bypass via Reused resumeToken over the Chat WebSocket
Workarounds
If upgrading is not immediately possible, administrators should consider the following temporary mitigations:
- Restrict n8n instance access to fully trusted users only.
- Avoid workflows that combine a Form Trigger with non-chat approval gates (Send-and-Wait, Telegram/Slack/Gmail HITL, or plain Wait nodes) on publicly accessible instances.
- Audit recent executions of such workflows for unexpected completion without a corresponding approval callback.
These workarounds do not fully remediate the risk and should only be used as short-term mitigation measures.
Impact
The /chat WebSocket route resumed a paused execution from a resume token without checking that the node being resumed was a chat node. n8n hands that token to anonymous form submitters, so a party with no account could present it on the chat route and release an execution waiting at an approval gate, the control an author puts in front of an action considered too consequential to automate. The patch restricts resume over the chat route and Chat Hub to chat-capable node types.
The application does not perform an authorization check before performing a sensitive operation. Typical impact: unauthorized access to restricted functionality or data.
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 2.37.7 and 2.38.2. Users should upgrade to one of these versions or later to remediate the vulnerability.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2026-86077? CVE-2026-86077 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in n8n (npm), affecting versions >= 2.38.0, < 2.38.2. It is fixed in 2.38.2, 2.37.7. The application does not perform an authorization check before performing a sensitive operation.
- Which versions of n8n are affected by CVE-2026-86077? n8n (npm) versions >= 2.38.0, < 2.38.2 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2026-86077? Yes. CVE-2026-86077 is fixed in 2.38.2, 2.37.7. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2026-86077 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-86077 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-2026-86077 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-2026-86077?
- Upgrade
n8nto 2.38.2 or later - Upgrade
n8nto 2.37.7 or later
- Upgrade