CVE-2026-59253
n8n - Improper Authorization in Workflow Assignment to Folders
n8n before 2.28.0 contains an improper authorization vulnerability allowing authenticated users to assign workflows to folders in other projects. Attackers can bypass project and folder authorization boundaries by supplying crafted request payloads during workflow creation, causing logical integrity violations in target project folder structures.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
n8n - Improper Authorization in Workflow Assignment to Folders
n8n before 2.28.0 contains an improper authorization vulnerability allowing authenticated users to assign workflows to folders in other projects. Attackers can bypass project and folder authorization boundaries by supplying crafted request payloads during workflow creation, causing logical integrity violations in target project folder structures.
- Record
CVE-2026-59253- CVSS 4.0
- 5.3 Medium
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:L/SA:N - Weakness
- CWE-639
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2026-42268
n8n before 2.28.0 contains an improper authorization vulnerability allowing authenticated users to assign workflows to folders in other projects. Attackers can bypass project and folder authorization boundaries by supplying crafted request payloads during workflow creation, causing logical integrity violations in target project folder structures.
- Record
EUVD-2026-42268- CVSS 4.0
- 5.3 Medium
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:L/SA:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-2xgm-wc4g-5jvg
n8n: Improper Authorization Allows Authenticated Users to Assign Workflows to Folders in Other Projects
Impact
An authenticated user with permission to create workflows in one project could bypass project/folder authorization boundaries during workflow creation. By supplying a crafted request payload, the user could associate a newly created workflow with a folder belonging to a different project they do not have access to.
The workflow itself remains in the attacker's project and is not visible to the target project's members. The target project's folder ownership is not changed, and no data from the target project is exposed. The impact is limited to a logical integrity violation of the target project's folder structure at the database level.
This issue affects instances with multi-project and folder support enabled.
Patches
The issue has been fixed in n8n version 2.28.0. Users should upgrade to this version or later to remediate the vulnerability.
Workarounds
If upgrading is not immediately possible, administrators should consider the following temporary mitigations:
- Restrict project membership and workflow creation permissions to fully trusted users only.
This workaround does not fully remediate the risk and should only be used as a short-term mitigation measure.
- Record
GHSA-2xgm-wc4g-5jvg- CVSS 4.0
- 5.3 Medium
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:L/SA:N - Weakness
- CWE-639
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-gqcv-rfj6-r29g
Duplicate Advisory: Improper Authorization Allows Authenticated Users to Assign Workflows to Folders in Other Projects
Duplicate Advisory
This advisory has been withdrawn because it is a duplicate of GHSA-2xgm-wc4g-5jvg. This link is maintained to preserve external references.
Original Description
n8n before 2.28.0 contains an improper authorization vulnerability allowing authenticated users to assign workflows to folders in other projects. Attackers can bypass project and folder authorization boundaries by supplying crafted request payloads during workflow creation, causing logical integrity violations in target project folder structures.
- Record
GHSA-gqcv-rfj6-r29g- CVSS 4.0
- 5.3 Medium
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:L/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X - CVSS 3.1
- 5.0 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-639
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
n8n before 2.28.0 contains an improper authorization vulnerability allowing authenticated users to assign workflows to folders in other projects. Attackers can bypass project and folder authorization boundaries by supplying crafted request payloads during workflow creation, causing logical integrity violations in target project folder structures.
- Record
CVE-2026-59253- CVSS 4.0
- 5.3 Medium
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:L/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X - CVSS 3.1
- 5.0 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-639
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
n8n - Improper Authorization in Workflow Assignment to Folders
n8n before 2.28.0 contains an improper authorization vulnerability allowing authenticated users to assign workflows to folders in other projects. Attackers can bypass project and folder authorization boundaries by supplying crafted request payloads during workflow creation, causing logical integrity violations in target project folder structures.
- Record
CVE-2026-59253- CVSS 4.0
- 5.3 Medium
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:L/SA:N - Weakness
- CWE-639
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-2xgm-wc4g-5jvg
n8n: Improper Authorization Allows Authenticated Users to Assign Workflows to Folders in Other Projects
Impact
An authenticated user with permission to create workflows in one project could bypass project/folder authorization boundaries during workflow creation. By supplying a crafted request payload, the user could associate a newly created workflow with a folder belonging to a different project they do not have access to.
The workflow itself remains in the attacker's project and is not visible to the target project's members. The target project's folder ownership is not changed, and no data from the target project is exposed. The impact is limited to a logical integrity violation of the target project's folder structure at the database level.
This issue affects instances with multi-project and folder support enabled.
Patches
The issue has been fixed in n8n version 2.28.0. Users should upgrade to this version or later to remediate the vulnerability.
Workarounds
If upgrading is not immediately possible, administrators should consider the following temporary mitigations:
- Restrict project membership and workflow creation permissions to fully trusted users only.
This workaround does not fully remediate the risk and should only be used as a short-term mitigation measure.
- Record
GHSA-2xgm-wc4g-5jvg- CVSS 4.0
- 5.3 Medium
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:L/SA:N - Weakness
- CWE-639
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-gqcv-rfj6-r29g
Duplicate Advisory: Improper Authorization Allows Authenticated Users to Assign Workflows to Folders in Other Projects
Duplicate Advisory
This advisory has been withdrawn because it is a duplicate of GHSA-2xgm-wc4g-5jvg. This link is maintained to preserve external references.
Original Description
n8n before 2.28.0 contains an improper authorization vulnerability allowing authenticated users to assign workflows to folders in other projects. Attackers can bypass project and folder authorization boundaries by supplying crafted request payloads during workflow creation, causing logical integrity violations in target project folder structures.
- Record
GHSA-gqcv-rfj6-r29g- CVSS 4.0
- 5.3 Medium
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:L/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X - CVSS 3.1
- 5.0 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-639
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
n8nnpm |
before 2.28.0 | 2.28.0 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| affected | ||
| first indexed | CVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2026-59253 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 5.3) in N8n, published July 8, 2026. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.28%, the 20th percentile. Fixed in n8n 2.28.0.
References
github.com/n8n-io/n8n/security/advisories/GHSA-2xgm-wc4g-5jvg
vulncheck.com/advisories/n8n-improper-authorization-in-workflow-assignment-to-folders
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-59253