CVE-2026-33722: n8n Has External Secrets Authorization Bypass in Credential Saving
Impact An authenticated user without permission to list external secrets could reference a secret by the external name in a credential and retrieve its plaintext value when saving the credential. This bypassed the externalSecret:list permission check and allowed access to secrets stored in connected vaults without admin or owner privileges.
- This issue requires the instance to have an external secrets vault configured. - The attacker must know or be able to guess the name of a target secret.
Patches The issue has been fixed in n8n versions 1.123.23 and 2.6.4. Users should upgrade to one of these versions 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. - Disable external secrets integration until the patch can be applied.
These workarounds do not fully remediate the risk and should only be used as short-term mitigation measures.
Other sources
n8n is an open source workflow automation platform. Prior to versions 2.6.4 and 1.123.23, an authenticated user without permission to list external secrets could reference a secret by the external name in a credential and retrieve its plaintext value when saving the credential. This bypassed the externalSecret:list permission check and allowed access to secrets stored in connected vaults without admin or owner privileges. This issue requires the instance to have an external secrets vault configured. The attacker must know or be able to guess the name of a target secret. The issue has been fixed in n8n versions 1.123.23 and 2.6.4. Users should upgrade to one of these versions or later to remediate the vulnerability. If upgrading is not immediately possible, administrators should consider the following temporary mitigations: Restrict n8n access to fully trusted users only, and/or disable external secrets integration until the patch can be applied. These workarounds do not fully remediate the risk and should only be used as short-term mitigation measures.
— MITRE
Affected Software
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the severity of CVE-2026-33722?
CVE-2026-33722 has a severity rating that could allow unauthorized access to sensitive information.
How do I fix CVE-2026-33722?
To mitigate CVE-2026-33722, upgrade n8n to version 2.6.4 or 1.123.23 or later.
Who is affected by CVE-2026-33722?
Users running n8n versions prior to 2.6.4 or 1.123.23 are affected by CVE-2026-33722.
What is the impact of CVE-2026-33722?
CVE-2026-33722 allows an authenticated user to bypass authorization and access external secrets.
Is there a workaround for CVE-2026-33722?
There is no official workaround for CVE-2026-33722; upgrading is the recommended course of action.