SQL Injection in n8n (CVE-2026-56351)
Summary
SQL injection in n8n (CVE-2026-56351). Confidential information can be exposed externally. Exploitable via NODES_EXCLUDE. Mitigation: upgrade to 2.4.0 or later.
Original description
The description as published by the source.
Impact
An authenticated user with permission to create or modify workflows and access to a database credential could unknowingly create a workflow that was vulnerable to SQL injection, even while expecting inputs to be handled safely through escaped parameters. By supplying specially crafted table or column names, an attacker could inject arbitrary SQL because the MySQL, PostgreSQL, and Microsoft SQL nodes did not escape identifier values when constructing queries, enabling injection through node configuration parameters.
Patches
The issue has been fixed in n8n version 2.4.0. 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:
- Limit workflow creation and editing permissions to fully trusted users only.
- Disable the MySQL, PostgreSQL, and Microsoft SQL nodes by adding
n8n-nodes-base.mySql,n8n-nodes-base.postgres, andn8n-nodes-base.microsoftSqlto theNODES_EXCLUDEenvironment variable.
These workarounds do not fully remediate the risk and should only be used as short-term mitigation measures.
Credit
Reporter: Pawel Bednarz from the NATO Cyber Security Centre (NCSC)
Source: GitHub Security Advisories (Global) NVD GitHub Advisory
Auto-generated summary
Assembled by SecPulse from the source data (CVSS, CWE, affected versions) using templates — no AI involved. Check the original description and references below for exact details.
A vulnerability tracked as CVE-2026-56351 has been found in n8n.
Attackers can target a specific entry point like NODES_EXCLUDE over the network to misuse the product.
Confidential information can be exposed externally. CVSS score: 8.2/10.
What to do: upgrade n8n to 2.4.0 or later.
If unsure, ask your IT team or search "n8n CVE-2026-56351" on the vendor's site.
CVE-2026-56351 (n8n) — CWE-89 / CVSS v3 8.2
Attack vector: remote (network-reachable) / no user interaction
Attack surface: NODES_EXCLUDE
Patched: 2.4.0 — apply immediately
Plan: 1) Audit SBOM/dependencies, 2) Stage→prod upgrade, 3) Add WAF/proxy monitoring on affected endpoints, 4) Hunt IOCs in logs.
Refs: see the GHSA / vendor advisory / patched release linked on this page.
SQL injection (CWE-89) exists in n8n. Attackers reach the vulnerable code path via NODES_EXCLUDE.
Check the vendor advisory for the affected versions of n8n. Attack surface: NODES_EXCLUDE.
Severity: High (CVSS 8.2/10). Confidential information can be exposed externally.
Update to 2.4.0.
Until the patch is applied: disable the affected feature, apply WAF rules, or restrict access via network ACLs.
Search webserver/proxy logs for unusual request patterns matching this CVE's known IOCs. Run grep -r 'n8n' . against your dependency files (package-lock.json, requirements.txt, go.sum) to find affected services.
Response actions
Concrete steps and command examples for SOC/SRE teams to execute in order
-
1Identify exposure identify
grep -r 'n8n' . | grep -v node_modulesリポジトリと本番環境の依存ファイル (package-lock.json / requirements.txt / go.sum / Gemfile.lock 等) で
n8nを grep し、稼働しているサービス・バージョンを把握する。 -
2Apply patch patch
Upgrade n8n to 2.4.0ステージング環境で 2.4.0 に上げて回帰テスト → 本番反映。回帰テストはアプリの主要ハッピーパスを含めること。
-
3Post-deployment verification verify
Confirm patched version is live in productionパッチ適用後、ステージングで PoC または同等の悪用パターンを再現して脆弱性が閉じたことを確認。本番ではアクセスログ・WAF でアラート再発が無いか継続監視。
Affected packages
References
- advisory nvd.nist.gov
- package github.com
- web github.com
- web github.com
- web github.com
- web github.com
- web vulncheck.com