An authenticated privilege escalation vulnerability in n8n allows users to bypass intended security boundaries via token exchange, posing a significant risk to system integrity.

The application suffers from improper privilege management during the token exchange process. An authenticated attacker can exploit this weakness to escalate their privileges, potentially gaining unauthorized administrative control over the application.

This vulnerability allows a standard user to gain elevated permissions, effectively bypassing the role-based access control mechanisms of the platform. This could result in unauthorized access to sensitive workflows, credentials, and business data. With a CVSS score of 8.9, the potential for total impact on the confidentiality and integrity of the application is high.

Immediate Action: Upgrade to n8n version 2.30.1 or 2.29.8 to resolve the token exchange vulnerability.

Proactive Monitoring: Monitor authentication logs for unusual token request patterns or unauthorized elevation attempts by standard user accounts.

Compensating Controls: Enforce strict access control policies and review user roles within the n8n console to identify and remove any accounts with excessive permissions.

Public Exploit Available: No

Organizations should prioritize the deployment of the security update to close the privilege management gap. Ensuring that all users operate with the principle of least privilege will further reduce the risk of internal abuse.