Quick answers
- Is CVE-2026-86996 exploited in the wild?
- No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-86996 being exploited in the wild.
- How severe is CVE-2026-86996?
- Medium severity, with a CVSS score of 5.4, published 8 September 2026.
- Which products and versions are affected?
- N8n < 2.37.7, >= 2.38.0 < 2.38.2; n8n (npm) SEMVER:introduced=2.38.0,fixed=2.38.2.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2026-86996?
- 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-2026-86996 attacked?
- It is attacked over the network, in a web application.
- Am I affected by CVE-2026-86996?
- 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
npm install n8n@2.38.2
Technical details
The vulnerability is a missing authorization control (CWE-862) in the Agent tool execution path. When workflows are attached as tools to an Agent, the sub-workflow caller policy (the "_This workflow can be called by_" setting) was not enforced, even though the same restriction was properly enforced in the Execute Workflow node. An authenticated attacker with Agent-building permissions could attach a restricted workflow as an Agent tool, invoke it, and read the workflow's output, bypassing the intended access control. The attack requires network access and the ability to create Agents but no additional user interaction. Patches are available in n8n versions 2.37.7 and 2.38.2 and later.
Affected products
- n8n n8n < 2.37.7, >= 2.38.0 < 2.38.2
Identifiers
- CVE-2026-86996
- GHSA-7hgx-277f-7vmg
Timeline
- 2026-09-08: disclosed: Vulnerability published in GitHub Advisory Database
- 2026-09-08: patched: Fixed in n8n 2.37.7 and 2.38.2