CVE Intelligence
High Injection

CVE-2026-72769 — n8n before 1.123.67 Prototype Pollution via VM Expression Engine

n8n before 1.123.67, 2.31.5, and 2.32.1 contains a prototype pollution vulnerability in the VM expression engine. An authenticated user able to create or edit a workflow expression can abuse the engine's array-element access to obtain a reference to a host built-in and pollute its prototype in the main n8n process (a sandbox escape), leading to a denial of service. Both self-hosted and cloud instances running the VM expression engine are affected.

Published Aug 11, 2026 · Updated Oct 15, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP · CNA: VulnCheck

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

No exploitation signal in the sources consulted so far.
How the score was calculated
  • EPSS 0.5% (30-day exploitation probability)+6
  • Technical severity (high)+6

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation
Not confirmed
Not in CISA KEV — an absence of record, not proof it is unexploited.
EPSS FIRST
0.51%
ahead of 42% of scored CVEs · Oct 16, 2026
Affects
N8n
N8n
CVSS base
8.1
High · 3 source(s)

CISA SSVC assessment CISA

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

Exploitation
None
none · proof-of-concept · active
Automatable
No
can an attacker script the kill-chain steps
Technical impact
Total
partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

  • Documented mitigation — github.com (NIST National Vulnerability Database)

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

  1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (N8n N8n, N8n-io N8n).
  2. Apply the documented mitigations until a definitive fix is available.
  3. Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (injection), errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
N8n N8n < 1.123.67≥ 2.0.0 and < 2.31.5version 2.32.0 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
N8n-io N8n < 1.123.67< 2.32.1< 2.31.5 Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

ScoreVersionSeverityExpl.ImpactScored by
6.1 CVSS 4.0 Medium — — disclosure@vulncheck.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database
6.1 CVSS 4.0 Medium — — VulnCheck via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
8.1 CVSS 3.1 High 2.8 5.2 nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H (score shown at the top: nvd@nist.gov)

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-1321 · Prototype Pollution

Other CVEs with this weakness →

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 15, 2026 → Oct 16, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 0.51%

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

  • Prioritize edge telemetry for the network-reachable component (proxy, WAF, IDS/IPS).
  • Look for parameters with command/query metacharacters and unexpected child processes of the service.
web/proxy/WAF logsnetwork IDS/IPSapplication logsendpoint telemetry (EDR)

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • Affected products added · n8n-io/n8n
    Oct 15, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • SSVC assessment updated
    Oct 15, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Record published
    Oct 15, 2026
  • Fix documented
    Oct 15, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVSS changed · 8.1
    Oct 15, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · → Analyzed
    Oct 15, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 15, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVE published
    Aug 11, 2026 · VulnCheck

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 15, 2026 – Oct 15, 2026

References

2 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

N8n
every CVE for this vendor
Injection
same class
CWE-1321
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

  • CVE-2026-110853 n8n before 1.123.83 Authorization Bypass via Execute Sub-workflow Inline JSON 2d
  • CVE-2026-110851 n8n before 2.41.4 and 2.42.1 Cross-Project Agent Ownership Transfer via Agents Create Endpoint 2d
  • CVE-2026-110852 n8n before 1.123.83, 2.41.4, and 2.42.1 Unauthenticated Workflow Execution via Dynamic-Path Webhook Resolution 2d
  • CVE-2026-110846 n8n before 2.41.4 and 2.42.1 Send-and-Wait HMAC Signature Bypass via Waiting-Webhook 2d
  • CVE-2026-110848 n8n before 1.123.83, 2.41.4, and 2.42.1 Prototype Pollution via AI Workflow Builder Connection Merge 2d
  • CVE-2026-110847 n8n before 1.123.83, 2.41.4, and 2.42.1 Stored XSS via Chat Trigger customCss Parameter 2d

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

  • No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
  • No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
  • No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2026-72769 is "n8n before 1.123.67 Prototype Pollution via VM Expression Engine", rated High. It affects N8n (N8n); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 8.1 describes technical severity. EPSS 0.51% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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