CVE-2026-21893: n8n Vulnerable to Command Injection in Community Package Installation

Should you act?

Critical, preconditions apply

Severe if exploited, but exploitation needs conditions that may not apply to you. This signal is computed from CISA KEV, EPSS and CVSS data; it is not an editorial verdict.

• No confirmed exploitation. It is not in CISA’s KEV catalog and CISA’s SSVC assessment records no known exploitation. That can change quickly after a public write-up; re-check if you are affected.
• EPSS 1.6%, percentile 75: FIRST’s model estimates a 1.6% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 75% of all scored CVEs (moderate). EPSS is a probability, not a verdict.
• Needs an account (high (admin)). Exposure depends on who can log in.
• Only applies if your dependency tree includes n8n (npm) >= 0.187.0, < 1.120.3, fixed in 1.120.3. Check your lockfile, including transitive dependencies.

What it is

n8n is an open source workflow automation platform. From version 0.187.0 to before 1.120.3, a command injection vulnerability was identified in n8n’s community package installation functionality. The issue allowed authenticated users with administrative permissions to execute arbitrary system commands on the n8n host under specific conditions. This issue has been patched in version 1.120.3.

From the GitHub advisory

Impact A Command Injection vulnerability was identified in n8n’s community package installation functionality. The issue allowed authenticated users with administrative permissions to execute arbitrary system commands on the n8n host under specific conditions.

Important context

- Exploitation requires administrative access to the n8n instance. - The affected functionality is restricted to trusted users who are already permitted to install third-party community packages. - No unauthenticated or low-privilege exploitation is possible. - There is no evidence of exploitation in the wild.

Because administrative users can already extend n8n with custom or community code, the vulnerability does not meaningfully expand the threat model beyond existing administrator capabilities. However, it represents a violation of secure coding practices and has therefore been addressed.

Patches Users are advised to upgrade to n8n version 1.120.3 or later, which fully resolves the issue.

Weakness type: CWE-78, CWE-20.

Product: n8n (npm) · Assigned by: GitHub_M · Published: 2026-02-04

Affected and fixed versions

Severity scores

• Attack vector: network (remotely reachable)
• Attack complexity: low
• Attack requirements: none
• Privileges required: high (admin)
• User interaction: none

CVSS measures how bad a flaw is if exploited, not how likely exploitation is. Read it next to the exploitation data below.

Exploitation and urgency

• CISA KEV: not listed (no confirmed in-the-wild exploitation known to CISA).
• CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation none, automatable no, technical impact total.
• FIRST EPSS (model of 2026-10-21): 1.56% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 75.

Timeline

• 2026-02-04 — CVE record last updated
• 2026-02-04 — CVE record published by GitHub_M
• 2026-02-04 — GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-7c4h-vh2m-743m published (critical)

Sources and references

Original sources first. Version and fix details should always be confirmed against the vendor or project advisory.

Vulnerability records

1. GitHub Advisory GHSA-7c4h-vh2m-743m github.com
2. CVE.org record CVE-2026-21893 cve.org
3. NVD entry CVE-2026-21893 nvd.nist.gov

Other references from the CVE record and advisory

1. github.com github.com
2. github.com github.com

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