CVE-2026-86083
highpriority · track · 35EPSS 0.007 · 52 %ileDEUSEPSS · scored 2026-10-27
n8n is an open source workflow automation platform. Prior to 1.123.76, 2.37.7, and 2.38.2, the legacy expression engine generated source text by calling the mutable global JSON.stringify while printing synthetic string literals and interpolating timezone data. An expression could replace JSON.stringify and cause later generated source to contain executable attacker-controlled code. The affected code-generation paths include packages/@n8n/expression-runtime/src/bridge/isolated-vm-bridge.ts and packages/@n8n/tournament/src/ExpressionBuilder.ts, and the issue does not affect the vm expression engine. This issue is fixed in versions 1.123.76, 2.37.7 and 2.38.2.
cvss
Technical severity, 0–10. One row per scoring source.
base score 0–10 · higher = more severe · hover a vector to decode⚠ sources disagree · medium–high · 5.2–8.8
ssvc
A stakeholder decision — act, attend, or track — from exploitation and impact.
weaknesses
The CWE weakness classes this flaw belongs to.
affected products (12)
Products and version ranges known to be affected.
advisories (2)
Vendor and ecosystem advisories describing this.
- WID-SEC-W-2026-3165n8n: Mehrere SchwachstellenDeutsch2026-09-02csaf · cert_bundDE
Ein entfernter, authentisierter Angreifer kann mehrere Schwachstellen in n8n ausnutzen, um Sicherheitsmechanismen zu umgehen, beliebigen Code auszuführen oder einen Denial of Service zu verursachen.
- GHSA-6xcw-7xm6-48c6n8n: Expression Sandbox Escape via Shared Builtin Tampering and Code-Printer Injection Leads to Code Execution2026-09-10ghsa · osvUS
## Impact Two stages of expression code generation built source text by calling the global `JSON.stringify` at generation time: the compiler when printing synthetic string literals, and the isolate bridge when interpolating a timezone value into its per-evaluation wrapper. An expression that replaced that global therefore changed the code that was subsequently generated and executed, turning literal data into executable source. The patch renders both code-generation stages through a reference captured at module load, so a later change to global state cannot alter the generated source. This vulnerability only affects instances running the legacy expression engine. The `vm` expression engine, which is the default on the patched releases, is not affected. ## Patches The issue has been fixed in n8n versions 1.123.76, 2.37.7, and 2.38.2. Users should upgrade to one of these versions or later to remediate the vulnerability. ## Workarounds If upgrading is not immediately possible, administrators should consider the following temporary mitigations: - Set the environment variable `N8N_EXPRESSION_ENGINE=vm` to switch to the vm expression engine, which is not affected by this vulnerability. - Restrict n8n instance access to fully trusted users only. - Ensure the n8n process runs under a dedicated low-privilege OS user account to limit the impact of any command execution. These workarounds do not fully remediate the risk and should only be used as short-term mitigation measures.
sources
Which sources assert this record, and when.
references (4) nvd
External citations — patches, advisories, analysis.
- https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n/releases/tag/n8n@1.123.76Release Notes
- https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n/releases/tag/n8n@2.37.7Release Notes
- https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n/releases/tag/n8n@2.38.2Release Notes
- https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n/security/advisories/GHSA-6xcw-7xm6-48c6MitigationVendor Advisory
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