n8n Cross-Project Folder Authorization Bypass
First seen Jul 23, 2026 · Updated Jul 23, 2026
A logic flaw in n8n's workflow automation platform allows an authenticated user to craft a request that associates their newly created workflow with a folder belonging to a different, unauthorized project. The workflow itself stays private to the attacker's project and no cross-project data is exposed, limiting the impact to a database-level integrity issue in folder structure. This is a traditional web application IDOR/authorization bug rather than an AI-agent-specific exploit, though n8n is increasingly used to orchestrate AI agent workflows.
Technical Analysis
The vulnerability exists in n8n's workflow creation endpoint, where the server fails to validate that a folder ID supplied in the request payload actually belongs to a project the requesting user has access to. An attacker with legitimate workflow-creation permissions in Project A can supply a folder ID from Project B in the creation request, causing backend metadata to associate the workflow with the foreign folder despite lacking authorization. This crosses a project isolation boundary (a multi-tenant trust boundary analogous to inter-agent boundaries in orchestrated agent systems) purely through a missing server-side authorization check rather than through model manipulation. The attacker gains no data access or visibility into the target project, but corrupts the logical integrity of that project's folder structure at the database level. Exploitation requires only crafting a modified API request during normal workflow creation, no special tooling or injection payload is needed.
Affected Systems
n8n
Detection Signatures
- Monitor workflow creation API calls where folderId parameter references a project ID different from the authenticated user's active project context
- Audit logs for workflow creation requests with mismatched project_id/folder_id pairs
- Alert on folder associations created by users without explicit membership in the target project
- Review n8n audit trails for repeated attempts to enumerate or guess folder IDs across projects
Remediation Steps
- 1
Upgrade n8n
Update to n8n version 2.28.0 or later, which enforces proper project/folder authorization checks during workflow creation.
- 2
Restrict workflow creation permissions
Until upgraded, limit workflow-creation rights to fully trusted users only, since any authorized creator could exploit this bypass.
- 3
Audit folder integrity
Review existing folder-to-project associations for anomalies indicating prior exploitation, and correct any incorrectly assigned workflows or folders.
- 4
Enable request validation logging
Add server-side logging/alerting for folder ID and project ID mismatches in workflow creation requests to detect exploitation attempts.
CVE / Advisory IDs
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