Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-65015

Access Control in N8N ≤ 2.29.8

Public PoCAccess Control
Published
22 July 2026
Modified
28 July 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v4 7.2
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:L/VA:N/SC:H/SI:L/SA:L/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
EPSS Score 0.0032 25th percentile
Risk Priority 55 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-65015 is a high-severity Incorrect Authorization (CWE-863) vulnerability in N8N N8N. Its CVSS base score is 7.2 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 25th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

This vulnerability is AI-related — categorised as AI Agent Protocols and Integrations.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-3 (Access Enforcement) and AC-6 (Least Privilege) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

n8n versions before 2.30.1 contain a privilege escalation vulnerability in the AI Agents feature where the node-execution tool lacks proper authorization checks. A Project Viewer user can escalate privileges by chatting with an agent that has node tools enabled, executing…

more

arbitrary nodes and accessing credential secrets without proper authorization verification.

CWE(s)

AI Security AnalysisAI

AI Category
AI Agent Protocols and Integrations
Risk Domain
N/A
OWASP Top 10 for LLMs 2025
None mapped
Classification Reason
Matched keywords: ai

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI

T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
Why these techniques?

Missing authorization checks in node-execution tool directly enable privilege escalation from Project Viewer to execute arbitrary nodes and access secrets.

Confidence: HIGH · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v19.0

Likely ATT&CK TechniquesAI

Techniques this vulnerability likely enables, inferred from its description, weakness type, and attributed-actor tradecraft. Confidence is per-technique.

T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalationconfidence: HIGH
The CVE is a direct privilege escalation flaw allowing a Project Viewer to bypass authorization and execute privileged actions.
T1552 Unsecured Credentials Credential Accessconfidence: MEDIUM
The flaw enables unauthorized access to credential secrets stored in the n8n environment.
inferred from description + CWE · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v19.0

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-65594Same product: N8N N8N
CVE-2026-56775Same product: N8N N8N
CVE-2026-56778Same product: N8N N8N
CVE-2025-68697Same product: N8N N8N
CVE-2026-54307Same product: N8N N8N
CVE-2026-33722Same product: N8N N8N
CVE-2026-65596Same product: N8N N8N
CVE-2026-65016Same product: N8N N8N
CVE-2026-33696Same product: N8N N8N
CVE-2026-33720Same product: N8N N8N

Affected Assets

n8n
n8n
2.30.0 · ≤ 2.29.8 · ≤ 2.29.8

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)
  • AC-3 Access Enforcement
  • AC-6 Least Privilege
  • AC-4 Information Flow Enforcement
Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 5 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

prevent

Directly requires the system to enforce authorized access to node-execution tools and credential secrets, preventing the missing authorization checks that enable the Project Viewer escalation.

prevent

Enforces least-privilege assignments so a Project Viewer cannot obtain the elevated rights needed to execute arbitrary nodes or read secrets via the AI agent.

prevent

Controls information flow between the AI agent chat interface and node tools, blocking unauthorized extraction of credential secrets.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.AA-05 mostly match
prevents

Defining, enforcing, and reviewing access authorizations and least privilege directly prevents incorrect authorization checks.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

prevents

Requiring consistency between access rights and classification plus formal approval steps ensures that the authorization logic correctly distinguishes between entities that should and should not be granted access.

prevents

Enforcing policy-driven approval and role-change reviews stops incorrect or stale authorization decisions from remaining in effect after job changes or terminations.

prevents

By tying access rights to identity, device, location and classification, the control reduces the likelihood that an authorization decision will be based on an incorrect or bypassed policy.

References