Summary
n8n: Path-Confinement Bypass in computer-use search_files Allows Reading Files Outside the Base Directory
Workarounds
If upgrading is not immediately possible, administrators should consider the following temporary mitigations:
- Restrict n8n instance access to fully trusted users only.
- Disable or remove AI agent workflows that use the
computer-usepackage until the instance is patched. - Ensure the n8n process runs under a dedicated low-privilege user account to limit the files accessible outside the sandbox.
These workarounds do not fully remediate the risk and should only be used as short-term mitigation measures.
Impact
The component @n8n/computer-use file-search tool confined searches to a configured base directory. A crafted search pattern could bypass the confinement check and expand to locations outside that directory, causing the tool to return the names and contents of files anywhere the daemon's OS user could read. Any deployment where an actor could influence the tool's search input was affected; the result was disclosure of arbitrary local files outside the intended sandbox.
Input manipulates file paths to reach files outside the intended directory, such as configuration or credential files. Typical impact: unauthorized file read or write outside the intended directory.
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 2.31.5 and 2.32.1. Users should upgrade to one of these versions or later to remediate the vulnerability.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is GHSA-PF2Q-PXHF-HGMW? GHSA-PF2Q-PXHF-HGMW is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in n8n (npm), affecting versions >= 2.32.0, < 2.32.1. It is fixed in 2.32.1, 2.31.5. Input manipulates file paths to reach files outside the intended directory, such as configuration or credential files.
- Which versions of n8n are affected by GHSA-PF2Q-PXHF-HGMW? n8n (npm) versions >= 2.32.0, < 2.32.1 is affected.
- Is there a fix for GHSA-PF2Q-PXHF-HGMW? Yes. GHSA-PF2Q-PXHF-HGMW is fixed in 2.32.1, 2.31.5. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is GHSA-PF2Q-PXHF-HGMW exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether GHSA-PF2Q-PXHF-HGMW 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-PF2Q-PXHF-HGMW 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-PF2Q-PXHF-HGMW?
- Upgrade
n8nto 2.32.1 or later - Upgrade
n8nto 2.31.5 or later
- Upgrade