Alex Joseph
A significant security flaw has been identified in n8n, a popular workflow automation tool. This vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2026-72768, allows malicious actors to bypass crucial server-side request forgery (SSRF) protections. This could expose internal services and sensitive information within affected n8n installations.
In simple terms, n8n’s MCP Client node, which is used for sending various requests, failed to properly filter or route user-supplied requests through its built-in SSRF safeguards. This means an authenticated user, who has permission to create or edit workflows, could craft a special workflow. This workflow would then send requests to internal network resources or other blocked destinations that the SSRF protection was designed to prevent access to. The attacker could even read the responses from these internal systems, potentially gaining access to sensitive data or further compromising the network.
CVE Details
- Product: n8n
- CVE ID: CVE-2026-72768
- Published Date: August 11, 2026
- Severity: High
- Status: Analyzed
Affected Products
The vulnerability impacts n8n versions prior to 2.32.1. Specifically, n8n version 2.32.0 and all earlier versions are affected. Users are strongly advised to check their n8n installation versions and update promptly.
Current Status
The vulnerability has been thoroughly analyzed. Patches have been released by n8n to address this issue. Organizations using n8n should consider this a critical update to maintain their security posture.
Severity Level
This vulnerability is rated as High severity with a CVSS score of 8.3. This high rating reflects the significant potential for attackers to gain unauthorized access to internal systems and sensitive data by exploiting this flaw. The ability for authenticated users to bypass SSRF protections poses a direct threat to the confidentiality and integrity of the underlying infrastructure.
Possible Solutions
n8n has released fixes for this vulnerability. The most effective solution is to update your n8n instance to a patched version immediately:
- Upgrade to n8n version 2.31.5 or later.
- Upgrade to n8n version 2.32.1 or later.
If an immediate upgrade is not feasible, n8n suggests the following temporary workarounds:
- Restrict access to your n8n instance to only fully trusted users. This limits who can create or modify malicious workflows.
- Disable the MCP Client node by adding its name to the
NODES_EXCLUDEenvironment variable in your n8n configuration. - Implement network-level restrictions (egress filtering) on the server hosting n8n to block outgoing connections to internal and link-local IP address ranges.
Please note that these workarounds are temporary and do not fully eliminate the risk. Prioritize upgrading to a patched version as soon as possible.
References
https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n/security/advisories/GHSA-vhf8-cg2h-cg3p
https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/n8n-before-ssrf-protection-bypass-via-mcp-client
