Malicious n8n Expression Sandbox Escape child_process Payload

ATT&CK techniques

Initial Access → Execution

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
- T1190Exploit Public-Facing Application
Execution
- T1059.004Unix Shell
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule detects HTTP request content carrying an n8n expression sandbox escape that reaches the Node.js child_process module through process mainModule require, the exploitation payload for CVE-2025-68613 used by the Zerobot botnet. The chained references break out of the expression evaluation context to run arbitrary commands. These strings together in request data indicate an exploitation attempt against the n8n platform.

Reporting behind it

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Malicious n8n Expression Sandbox Escape child_process Payload

Pivot detection · T1059.004 · 9 related

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