GHSA-r4v6-9fqc-w5jr
HIGHGHSA-r4v6-9fqc-w5jr is a high-severity (CVSS 8.5) CWE-862 vulnerability in n8n. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-r4v6-9fqc-w5jr is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
n8n's Credential Authorization Bypass in dynamic-node-parameters Allows Foreign API Key Replay
Blast Radius
Weekly download volume for affected packages — a proxy for how broadly this vulnerability is deployed.
n8nnpmDescription
Impact
The dynamic-node-parameters endpoints did not verify whether the authenticated caller was authorized to use a supplied credential reference. An authenticated user with access to a shared workflow could supply a foreign credential ID in the request body, causing the backend to decrypt and use that credential in a helper execution path where the caller also controls the destination URL. This allowed the caller to force the backend to authenticate against attacker-controlled infrastructure using a credential belonging to another user, effectively exfiltrating a reusable API key.
The issue is not limited to any single node type; any node that resolves credentials dynamically through these endpoints may be affected.
Patches
The issue has been fixed in n8n version 2.18.0. 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 n8n access to fully trusted users only.
- Avoid sharing workflows with users who should not have access to the credentials those workflows reference.
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 | ≥ 2.17.0&&< 2.17.5 | 2.17.5 |
| 📦npm | n8n | all versions | 1.123.33 |
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 2.17.5 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-r4v6-9fqc-w5jr 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-r4v6-9fqc-w5jr 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-r4v6-9fqc-w5jr. 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-r4v6-9fqc-w5jr in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-r4v6-9fqc-w5jr across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.