⚠ Reference material — not professional advice. Test in staging, back up first, verify against your specific version. Use your own judgment for your environment.
● Critical · CVSS 10 ⚠ ACTIVELY EXPLOITED — CISA KEV

How to Fix CVE-2025-68613: Code Injection RCE in n8n

Other vulnerabilities in the same area that are worth patching alongside this one:

*By Sai Kiran Pandrala*

⚡ At a glance
SeverityCVSS 10 - Critical
Actively exploited?Yes, listed in CISA KEV (added 2026-03-11)
Affected>= 0.211.0, < 1.120.4, = 1.121.0
Fixed inversions
Type (CWE)CWE-913: Improper Control of Dynamically-Managed Code Resources
Patch immediately. CISA's KEV listing means active exploitation is confirmed. Federal agencies must remediate by 2026-03-25.

What is CVE-2025-68613?

CVE-2025-68613 is a code injection flaw in n8n. Attacker-controlled input is evaluated as code by the application runtime, giving the attacker arbitrary execution inside the process. Vendor description: n8n is an open source workflow automation platform. Versions starting with 0.211.0 and prior to 1.120.4, 1.121.1, and 1.122.0 contain a critical Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerability in their workflow expression evaluation system.

Why this CVE matters

Code injection against an application server is a direct path to remote code execution. The attacker executes inside the application runtime, which means database credentials, integration keys, and any secrets the process has loaded in memory are all exposed.

For deployments of n8n that have been exposed to the public internet during the disclosure window, the operating assumption should be that scanning has already happened. Confirmed in-the-wild exploitation makes that assumption mandatory, not cautious. Patching closes the door; log review and credential rotation close out the rest of the response.

Am I affected?

You are affected if your installation matches any of these version ranges:

Check your installed version against the list above. If you cannot determine the version, treat the system as affected and follow the upgrade path below.

Open n8n's About dialog or run the vendor-documented version-check command. Compare the result against the affected ranges in the advisory.

How to fix CVE-2025-68613

  1. Read the vendor advisory in full: https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n/security/advisories/GHSA-v98v-ff95-f3cp
  2. Upgrade n8n to the patched build listed in the vendor advisory.
  3. Back up the configuration (and database, where applicable) before upgrading.
  4. Rotate any credentials, API keys, or session tokens that the vulnerable service touched. An unauthenticated RCE-class flaw means anything the process could see should be treated as exposed.
  5. Apply the patch in a maintenance window. For HA pairs, upgrade the standby node first, fail over, then upgrade the former primary.
  6. Restart the affected service so the patched binary loads, then verify the new version (see verification section).

Patch via your OS package manager


# The exact package name and patched version are listed in the vendor advisory:
# https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n/security/advisories/GHSA-v98v-ff95-f3cp
# Debian / Ubuntu
sudo apt update
sudo apt install --only-upgrade n8n

# RHEL / Rocky / AlmaLinux / Fedora
sudo dnf upgrade n8n

# openSUSE
sudo zypper update n8n

# Verify the running version matches the fixed version
dpkg -s n8n 2>/dev/null | grep -i version || rpm -q n8n 2>/dev/null


# Windows: pull the cumulative update that ships this fix.
Install-Module PSWindowsUpdate -Force -SkipPublisherCheck
Get-WindowsUpdate -AcceptAll -Install -AutoReboot

Verify the fix landed


# 1. Confirm the running version matches the fixed-in version from the advisory:
#    https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n/security/advisories/GHSA-v98v-ff95-f3cp
#    Use the platform-specific version probe above.

# 2. Re-scan with your vulnerability scanner (Nessus, Qualys, Tenable, OpenVAS).
#    The scanner should no longer flag CVE-2025-68613 on the patched target.

# 3. Inspect recent service / kernel logs for crash loops or rollback events.
journalctl -u <service> --since "10 minutes ago"
dmesg --since "10 minutes ago"

If you cannot patch immediately

Restrict access to the management interface to trusted internal IP addresses only. Block public access at the firewall and require VPN for any remote administration. Apply the patch as soon as a maintenance window allows.

How to verify the fix worked

If your installation was internet-reachable during the disclosure window, treat log review as part of the remediation rather than an optional follow-up. Look for unexpected administrator accounts in n8n, scheduled tasks or cron jobs you did not create, new files in web-accessible directories, and outbound connections to addresses not in your baseline. Suspicious requests to the vulnerable endpoint immediately followed by successful 200-class responses with unusually large bodies are a strong indicator of exploitation. Because n8n sits on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog for this CVE, defenders should also pull the IOC list from the vendor advisory and from CISA's analysis if one was published.

Frequently asked questions

Is CVE-2025-68613 being exploited in the wild?

Yes. CISA added CVE-2025-68613 to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which means active exploitation has been confirmed by federal observation or credible vendor reporting.

Will a WAF or IDS rule fully mitigate CVE-2025-68613?

No. Network-layer filters can reduce noise and slow opportunistic scanners, but they will not stop a determined attacker. The vendor patch is the only durable fix.

Do I need to assume compromise if my n8n was internet-facing and unpatched?

For an unauthenticated RCE-class flaw exposed to the public internet during the known exploitation window, yes. Review logs, rotate credentials the process could access, and look for unexpected accounts, scheduled tasks, or outbound connections.

References

*This guide was assembled from the official vendor advisory, the NVD record, and the CISA KEV catalog entry on 2026-05-25. Always confirm against the vendor advisory before applying changes in production.*