CVE-2026-54311: n8n: Merge Node SQL Mode Prototype Pollution
Impact An authenticated user with permission to create or modify workflows could pollute the sandbox used by the Merge node's SQL Query mode. Because the sandbox context was cached and reused across all workflow executions on the instance, prototype mutations introduced by one user's workflow persist into subsequent Merge SQL executions belonging to other users or projects.
Published Jun 16, 2026 · Updated Jul 20, 2026
Affected packages
n8n
- Ecosystem
- npm
- Affected
- >= 2.26.0, < 2.26.2
- Fixed in
- 2.26.2
- Check
npm ls n8n
n8n
- Ecosystem
- npm
- Affected
- < 2.25.7
- Fixed in
- 2.25.7
- Check
npm ls n8n
Advisory details
From the GitHub Advisory Database (CC BY 4.0).
Impact
An authenticated user with permission to create or modify workflows could pollute the sandbox used by the Merge node's SQL Query mode. Because the sandbox context was cached and reused across all workflow executions on the instance, prototype mutations introduced by one user's workflow persist into subsequent Merge SQL executions belonging to other users or projects. This allowed a low-privileged attacker to intercept workflow data processed by other users on the same instance.
This issue only affects multi-user n8n instances where more than one user has permission to create and execute workflows containing the Merge node in SQL Query mode.
Patches
The issue has been fixed in n8n versions 2.25.7, and 2.26.2. Users should upgrade to one of these versions or later to remediate the vulnerability.
Workarounds
If upgrading is not immediately possible, administrators should consider the following temporary mitigations:
- Limit workflow creation and editing permissions to fully trusted users only.
- Disable the Merge node by adding
n8n-nodes-base.mergeto theNODES_EXCLUDEenvironment variable.
These workarounds do not fully remediate the risk and should only be used as short-term mitigation measures.
Credited to sm1ee.
References
How this page is made: the data panel comes from the GitHub Advisory Database, CISA’s KEV catalog, the NVD and FIRST EPSS, and updates twice a day. No analysis has been written for this entry yet. Methodology
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