GHSA-5xrp-6693-jjx9 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.9) CWE-95 vulnerability in n8n. EPSS puts its 30-day exploitation probability at 19.4% (97th percentile). A fix is available for n8n — see the affected versions and patch details below.
n8n Unsafe Workflow Expression Evaluation Allows Remote Code Execution
Exploitation Status
Proof-of-concept exploit code exists
- CISA’s SSVC triage found public proof-of-concept exploit code for this CVE, though no confirmed active exploitation.
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for GHSA-5xrp-6693-jjx9.
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.
How urgent is this, really
GHSA-5xrp-6693-jjx9 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 377,333 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the 10–50% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
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
n8n contains a critical Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerability in its workflow Expression evaluation system. Expressions supplied by authenticated users during workflow configuration may be evaluated in an execution context that is not sufficiently isolated from the underlying runtime.
An authenticated attacker could abuse this behavior to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the n8n process. Successful exploitation may lead to full compromise of the affected instance, including unauthorized access to sensitive data, modification of workflows, and execution of system-level operations.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | n8n | all versions | 1.123.17npm install n8n@1.123.17 |
| 📦npm | n8n | ≥ 2.0.0&&< 2.4.5 | 2.4.5npm install n8n@2.4.5 |
| 📦npm | n8n | ≥ 2.5.0&&< 2.5.1 | 2.5.1npm install n8n@2.5.1 |
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 1.123.17 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-5xrp-6693-jjx9 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 GHSA-5xrp-6693-jjx9 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-5xrp-6693-jjx9. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-5xrp-6693-jjx9 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-5xrp-6693-jjx9 across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.