CVE-2026-42228 — n8n
CVE-2026-42228 is a CWE-862 vulnerability in n8n. A fix is available for n8n — see the affected versions and patch details below.
n8n: Hijacking of Unauthenticated Chat Execution
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2026-42228.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
Real-World Exposure
How broadly this vulnerability is actually deployed: weekly install volume shows current usage, and reverse-dependency count shows how many other packages break if it stays unpatched.
n8nnpmDescription
Impact
The /chat WebSocket endpoint used by the Chat Trigger node's Hosted Chat feature did not verify that an incoming connection was authorized to interact with the target execution. An unauthenticated remote attacker who could identify a valid execution ID for a workflow in a waiting state could attach to that execution, receive the pending prompt intended for the legitimate user, and submit arbitrary input to resume or influence downstream workflow behavior.
Exploitation requires the following conditions:
- The instance exposes a public Hosted Chat workflow with authentication set to
None. - A target execution is in a waiting state at the time of the attack.
- The attacker can obtain or discover the execution ID of that waiting execution.
Patches
The issue has been fixed in n8n versions 1.123.32, 2.17.4, and 2.18.1. 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:
- Enable authentication on all Chat Trigger nodes by setting the Authentication field to
n8n User Authrather thanNone.
These workarounds do not fully remediate the risk and should only be used as short-term mitigation measures.
n8n has adopted CVSS 4.0 as primary score for all security advisories. CVSS 3.1 vector strings are provided for backwards compatibility.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | n8n | all versions | 1.123.32npm install n8n@1.123.32 |
| 📦npm | n8n | ≥ 2.18.0&&< 2.18.1 | 2.18.1npm install n8n@2.18.1 |
| 📦npm | n8n | ≥ 2.0.0&&< 2.17.4 | 2.17.4npm install n8n@2.17.4 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for n8n, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update n8n to 1.123.32 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-42228 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2026-42228 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2026-42228. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2026-42228 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2026-42228 across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.