• Pillar Security disclosed two critical vulnerabilities in the n8n AI workflow automation platform.
  • The flaws can be chained to enable supply‑chain compromise, credential harvesting and complete platform takeover.
  • Administrators should check vendor advisories, apply patches immediately, rotate credentials and audit workflows and integrations.

What happened

Pillar Security has disclosed two critical vulnerabilities in the n8n workflow automation platform. According to the disclosure, the flaws could be combined by a remote attacker to compromise the supply chain of automated processes, harvest stored credentials and ultimately take full control of affected n8n instances.

The report warns that an attacker who successfully exploits both issues could use malicious workflows or crafted payloads to move laterally, access connected services and persist inside environments that rely on n8n for automation.

Why this matters

Many organizations use n8n to connect cloud services, databases and internal systems. Because workflows often have access to API keys, service accounts and other secrets, a compromised automation platform becomes a high‑value target: attackers can exfiltrate credentials, inject malicious jobs into live automation pipelines, or pivot into downstream systems.

Even if only a small number of instances are affected, the potential impact is large: supply‑chain compromise can silently affect many systems that trust n8n workflows to perform routine tasks.

Recommended immediate actions

  • Check the official n8n advisory and any updates from Pillar Security for patch availability and detailed mitigation steps.
  • Apply vendor patches immediately once available. Treat these as high priority.
  • Rotate all keys, API tokens and service credentials used by n8n workflows and connected integrations.
  • Review and remove any unused or overly broad credentials stored in n8n.
  • Audit recent workflow deployments and look for unexpected changes or unfamiliar workflow executions.
  • Restrict network access to n8n instances (IP allowlists, VPNs) and enforce least‑privilege access for service accounts.
  • Enable detailed logging and monitoring; investigate anomalous job executions, failed authentications and unusual outbound connections.

Longer‑term hardening

Teams that rely on automation should consider stronger secrets management (external vaults), signing and validating workflow definitions, and isolating automation environments from critical production systems. Regular pentesting and third‑party dependency reviews help reduce supply‑chain risk.

What to watch for

Look for official patches and CVE identifiers in the n8n advisory and Pillar Security disclosure. Security teams should treat this as an urgent operational risk: if you run n8n, assume potential compromise until you have patched, rotated credentials and validated the integrity of your workflows.

If you manage hosted or self‑hosted n8n instances, notify stakeholders, freeze non‑essential workflow changes and prioritize incident response steps now.

Image Referance: https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/two-critical-flaws-in-n8n-ai/