# CVE-2026-86085: n8n missing authorization in role assignment endpoints

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-86085-n8n-missing-authorization-in-role-assignment-endpoints  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-09-08. Updated: 2026-09-25  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-86085 · Severity: medium · CVSS 4.9 · Published 2026-09-08

n8n is a workflow automation platform used to connect and automate business processes. Two API endpoints that manage role assignments failed to properly check whether a user could access a project before revealing its members' names and email addresses. An attacker with role-management permissions could abuse this to discover and extract personally identifiable information about employees in projects they don't have access to. This could lead to unauthorized data exposure and cross-tenant information disclosure in multi-tenant deployments.

Technologies: [N8n](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/n8n), [n8n (npm)](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/npm-n8n). Vendors: [N8n](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/n8n), [npm](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/npm).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-86085 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-86085 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-86085?** Medium severity, with a CVSS score of 4.9, published 8 September 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** N8n >= 2.38.0, < 2.38.2 and < 2.37.7; n8n (npm) SEMVER:introduced=2.38.0,fixed=2.38.2.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-86085?** Yes. n8n (npm): upgrade to 2.38.2 or later. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

**How is CVE-2026-86085 attacked?** It is attacked over the network, in a web application.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-86085?** Check whether you run N8n or n8n (npm) at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## How to fix

- n8n (npm): upgrade to 2.38.2 or later

  ```sh
  npm install n8n@2.38.2
  ```


## Technical details

This is a missing authorization (CWE-862) vulnerability in n8n's role assignment API endpoints. The endpoints `/rest/roles/:slug/assignments` and `/rest/roles/:slug/assignments/:projectId/members` performed only role-type management checks but failed to validate project-level access controls. An authenticated attacker holding the `role:manageProject` permission could request information about any project by name and receive member lists containing full names and email addresses, regardless of their access to that project. The vulnerability affects versions >= 2.38.0 and < 2.38.2, and all versions < 2.37.7. The fix adds project-access scope checks to both routes, returning not-found responses for projects the caller cannot list. Attack requires network access, high privileges (role-management permission), and no user interaction.

## Affected products

- n8n n8n >= 2.38.0, < 2.38.2 and < 2.37.7

## Identifiers

- CVE-2026-86085
- GHSA-cqr2-h44g-v75v

## Timeline

- 2026-09-02: disclosed: GitHub advisory published
- 2026-09-02: patched: Patches released in versions 2.38.2 and 2.37.7
- 2026-09-10: advisory: Advisory updated and published to GitHub Advisory Database

## References

- [https://api.github.com/users/mtholmquist](https://api.github.com/users/mtholmquist)
- [https://github.com/mtholmquist](https://github.com/mtholmquist)
- [https://api.github.com/users/mtholmquist/gists%7B/gist_id%7D](https://api.github.com/users/mtholmquist/gists%7B/gist_id%7D)
- [https://api.github.com/users/mtholmquist/repos](https://api.github.com/users/mtholmquist/repos)
- [https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/68301470?v=4](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/68301470?v=4)
- [https://api.github.com/users/mtholmquist/events%7B/privacy%7D](https://api.github.com/users/mtholmquist/events%7B/privacy%7D)

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