Summary
n8n: Shared-Workflow Editor Can Exfiltrate Credentials via Inline Sub-Workflow JSON
Workarounds
If upgrading is not immediately possible, administrators should consider the following temporary mitigations:
- Restrict workflow sharing to fully trusted users only, and avoid granting Editor access to untrusted members on workflows that use sensitive credentials.
- Audit shared workflows for Execute Sub-workflow nodes with Source = "Parameter" and review their inline workflow definitions for unexpected credential references.
- Restrict network egress from the n8n instance to prevent connections to attacker-controlled endpoints.
These workarounds do not fully remediate the risk and should only be used as short-term mitigation measures.
Impact
n8n's credential-access checks validated only a node's top-level credentials, not credentials referenced inside an Execute Sub-workflow node's inline workflow JSON. A member with editor access to a shared workflow could reference a credential they were not permitted to use inside that inline JSON; it passed both save-time and runtime validation and resolved in the parent workflow's project context, letting the member use or exfiltrate a credential they could not otherwise access.
Exploitation requires workflow sharing to be enabled and the attacker to have been explicitly granted Editor access to a shared workflow. The attacker must also know the target credential's ID.
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.
Already deployed Kodem?
See it in your environmentNew to Kodem? Get a demo →Remediation advice
The issue has been fixed in n8n versions 1.123.67, 2.31.5, and 2.32.1. Users should upgrade to one of these versions or later to remediate the vulnerability.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is GHSA-CJ9H-QX8G-PQ2G? GHSA-CJ9H-QX8G-PQ2G is a high-severity incorrect authorization vulnerability in n8n (npm), affecting versions < 1.123.67. It is fixed in 1.123.67, 2.32.1, 2.31.5. 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 GHSA-CJ9H-QX8G-PQ2G? n8n (npm) versions < 1.123.67 is affected.
- Is there a fix for GHSA-CJ9H-QX8G-PQ2G? Yes. GHSA-CJ9H-QX8G-PQ2G is fixed in 1.123.67, 2.32.1, 2.31.5. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is GHSA-CJ9H-QX8G-PQ2G exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether GHSA-CJ9H-QX8G-PQ2G 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 GHSA-CJ9H-QX8G-PQ2G 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 GHSA-CJ9H-QX8G-PQ2G?
- Upgrade
n8nto 1.123.67 or later - Upgrade
n8nto 2.32.1 or later - Upgrade
n8nto 2.31.5 or later
- Upgrade