CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-86081NVD status: Undergoing Analysis

n8n: Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-86081 is a high-severity inefficient regular expression complexity vulnerability in n8n, with a CVSS 4.0 base score of 7.1 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. Affected n8n versions: >= 2.38.0, < 2.38.2; >= 2.0.0, < 2.37.7; < 1.123.76. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.56% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Check which version of n8n you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
  2. Read the advisory on github.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
n8nn8n>= 2.38.0, < 2.38.2; >= 2.0.0, < 2.37.7; < 1.123.76Not stated

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Attack requirements
NoneThe attack does not depend on a particular deployment or configuration.
Privileges required
LowA basic user account is enough.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Confidentiality (vulnerable system)
NoneNo loss of confidentiality on the vulnerable system.
Integrity (vulnerable system)
NoneNo loss of integrity on the vulnerable system.
Availability (vulnerable system)
HighSerious loss of availability on the vulnerable system.
Confidentiality (other systems)
NoneNo loss of confidentiality on systems beyond the vulnerable one.
Integrity (other systems)
NoneNo loss of integrity on systems beyond the vulnerable one.
Availability (other systems)
NoneNo loss of availability on systems beyond the vulnerable one.

Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X. Scored by CNA (github.com).

Official description

n8n is an open source workflow automation platform. Prior to 1.123.76, 2.37.7, and 2.38.2, the Git node clone operation matched an attacker-controlled destination path against the default N8N_BLOCK_FILE_PATTERNS regular expression. The pattern ^(./).git(/.)$ allowed catastrophic backtracking and ran synchronously in the main n8n process. An authenticated workflow editor could therefore freeze the instance with one workflow execution; the affected default is declared in packages/@n8n/config/src/configs/security.config.ts. This issue is fixed in versions 1.123.76, 2.37.7 and 2.38.2.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity

The product uses a regular expression with a worst-case computational complexity that is inefficient and possibly exponential.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Use regular expressions that do not support backtracking, e.g. by removing nested quantifiers.
  • Set backtracking limits in the configuration of the regular expression implementation, such as PHP's pcre.backtrack_limit. Also consider limits on execution time for the process.
  • Do not use regular expressions with untrusted input. If regular expressions must be used, avoid using backtracking in the expression.

More Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity vulnerabilities (CWE-1333)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: yes, technical impact: partial).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Other vulnerabilities in n8n

All n8n vulnerabilities

Recent Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity vulnerabilities

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