GHSA-8342-988q-86cr
n8n: Account Takeover via Unverified Email Claim in Token Exchange Embed Login
Blast Radius
Weekly download volume for affected packages — a proxy for how broadly this vulnerability is deployed.
n8nnpmDescription
Impact
In an n8n instance, when a validly-signed incoming token was matched to a local account by its email claim, the service did not check that the trusted key's permitted role ceiling covered that account, nor that the email claim was verified. As a result, anyone able to obtain a token accepted by one of the configured trusted keys, for example a trusted issuer that emitted unverified email addresses, could authenticate as any existing user, gaining full account control.
This issue only affects instances where the embed login feature is enabled and at least one trusted key source is configured.
Patches
The issue has been fixed in n8n version 2.32.1. 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:
- Disable the embed login feature by setting
N8N_TOKEN_EXCHANGE_ENABLED=false. - If embed login cannot be disabled, restrict network access to the n8n instance to fully trusted parties only, and audit all configured trusted keys and their
allowedRolesassignments. - Review
auth_identityrecords for unexpectedtoken-exchangeentries linked to high-privilege accounts.
These workarounds do not fully remediate the risk and should only be used as short-term mitigation measures.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | n8n | ≥ 2.32.0&&< 2.32.1 | 2.32.1 |
| 📦npm | n8n | all versions | 2.31.5 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for n8n. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update n8n to 2.32.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-8342-988q-86cr 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 pinpoints whether GHSA-8342-988q-86cr is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to GHSA-8342-988q-86cr. 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-8342-988q-86cr in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-8342-988q-86cr across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.