# CVE-2026-103246: n8n before 2.39.6 and 2.40.x before 2.40.1 Credential Disclosure via Node-Tool Introspection

> Attackers can exfiltrate plaintext secrets by referencing arbitrary credential IDs due to missing ownership validation in n8n.

- **Severity:** High 8.3 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:H/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 1 Oct 2026
- **Updated:** 6 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-6w8v-v5w3-7x56, GHSA-9rhv-fhr8-7q5r, MINI-qccg-wp92-52jr

## What is CVE-2026-103246?

CVE-2026-103246 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in n8n-io n8n, published on 1 Oct 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

n8n versions before 2.39.6 and 2.40.0 before 2.40.1 fail to validate credential ownership during inline agent node-tool introspection. Attackers can reference arbitrary credential IDs to decrypt and exfiltrate plaintext secrets to attacker-controlled hosts without ownership verification.

Weakness: CWE-639 (Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-103246?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-103246?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2026-103246 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-103246 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-103246 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-103246 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in n8n-io n8n, published on 1 Oct 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-103246 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n8n-io n8n. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-103246/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-103246/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-103246
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-103246
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-103246

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-103246/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.