n8n: Privilege Escalation and Code Execution via Full Public API Key Scope Assignment to Token Exchange JWTs
HighCVE-2026-65595 · Published Jul 22, 2026
## Impact JWTs issued through the Token Exchange module were assigned all Public API key scopes, regardless of the acting user's actual role. A low-privileged user who could obtain a valid external JWT trusted by a configured issuer could therefore use the resulting access token to invoke administrator-only Public API operations, such as role escalation, user creation, and user deletion. The issue only affects instances where the Token Exchange feature and the Public API are enabled (N8N_TOKEN_EXCHANGE_ENABLED=true, N8N_ENV_FEAT_TOKEN_EXCHANGE=true) and the attacker can obtain an external JWT accepted by a configured trusted key. Role escalation additionally requires an Advanced Permissions license; Community Package installation additionally requires `N8N_COMMUNITY_PACKAGES_ENABLED=true` and `N8N_UNVERIFIED_PACKAGES_ENABLED=true`. ## Patches The issue has been fixed in n8n version 2.30.1 and 2.29.8. 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: - Disable the Token Exchange feature by setting `N8N_TOKEN_EXCHANGE_ENABLED=f...
Affected versions
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| n8n npm | >= 2.30.0, < 2.30.1 | 2.30.1 |
| < 2.29.8 | 2.29.8 |
Details and references
## Impact JWTs issued through the Token Exchange module were assigned all Public API key scopes, regardless of the acting user's actual role. A low-privileged user who could obtain a valid external JWT trusted by a configured issuer could therefore use the resulting access token to invoke administrator-only Public API operations, such as role escalation, user creation, and user deletion. The issue only affects instances where the Token Exchange feature and the Public API are enabled (N8N_TOKEN_EXCHANGE_ENABLED=true, N8N_ENV_FEAT_TOKEN_EXCHANGE=true) and the attacker can obtain an external JWT accepted by a configured trusted key. Role escalation additionally requires an Advanced Permissions license; Community Package installation additionally requires `N8N_COMMUNITY_PACKAGES_ENABLED=true` and `N8N_UNVERIFIED_PACKAGES_ENABLED=true`. ## Patches The issue has been fixed in n8n version 2.30.1 and 2.29.8. 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: - Disable the Token Exchange feature by setting `N8N_TOKEN_EXCHANGE_ENABLED=false` or `N8N_ENV_FEAT_TOKEN_EXCHANGE=false`. - If Token Exchange cannot be disabled, restrict Public API access at the network level to trusted clients only. - Disable unverified Community Package installation by setting `N8N_UNVERIFIED_PACKAGES_ENABLED=false` to eliminate the code execution path. These workarounds do not fully remediate the risk and should only be used as short-term mitigation measures.
- CVSS 4.0
- CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:L/SA:L
- Severity from
- GitHub (reviewed advisory)
- Weakness
- CWE-269
- Also known as
- CVE-2026-65595
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