# CVE-2026-86081: n8n: Regular Expression Denial of Service in the Default Blocked-File-Pattern Match via a Git Node Clone Path

> An authenticated user can freeze the n8n instance by triggering catastrophic backtracking in a regular expression during Git node operations.

- **Severity:** High 7.1 (`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`)
- **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:** 8 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 9 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-j535-v25q-vx3q, MINI-7235-52mr-qf9x, ROOT-APP-NPM-CVE-2026-86081

## What is CVE-2026-86081?

CVE-2026-86081 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in n8n-io n8n, published on 8 Sep 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### 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.

Weakness: CWE-1333 (Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-86081?

6 open source packages ship an affected version, including n8n.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `n8n` | npm | All versions | 1.123.76 |
| `n8n` | npm | All versions | 1.123.76 |
| `n8n` | npm | From 2.0.0 | 2.37.7 |
| `n8n` | npm | From 2.0.0 | 2.37.7 |
| `n8n` | npm | From 2.38.0 | 2.38.2 |
| `n8n` | npm | From 2.38.0 | 2.38.2 |

## How do I fix CVE-2026-86081?

Upgrade n8n to a fixed version for your release line: 1.123.76, 2.37.7 or 2.38.2.

## Is CVE-2026-86081 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-86081 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-86081 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-86081 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in n8n-io n8n, published on 8 Sep 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-2026-86081 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- n8n (npm): affected all versions; fixed in 1.123.76
- n8n (npm): affected all versions; fixed in 1.123.76
- n8n (npm): affected from 2.0.0; fixed in 2.37.7
- n8n (npm): affected from 2.0.0; fixed in 2.37.7
- n8n (npm): affected from 2.38.0; fixed in 2.38.2
- n8n (npm): affected from 2.38.0; fixed in 2.38.2

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-2026-86081/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-86081/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-86081
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-86081
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-86081

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-86081/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.