How to secure webhooks in n8n?

The simplest and most reliable way to secure n8n webhooks in production is to use Webhook Authentication (Basic Auth or Header Auth), combined with signatures or verification when your external service supports it, and optionally restrict access at the network level (IP allow‑listing, reverse proxy, API gateway). n8n does not protect webhooks by default — you must explicitly secure them.

 

What “securing a webhook” means in n8n

 

A webhook is just a public URL that triggers a workflow. It’s powerful, but it’s also a door anyone can knock on. Securing it means:

• Only the expected client/service can trigger it.
• You can verify the request wasn’t modified.
• Random internet traffic can’t spam or break your workflow.
• You protect your server from unnecessary load.

 

Recommended security layers for n8n webhooks

 

Below are the real, production‑grade techniques that actually work with n8n today.

• Use Webhook Authentication (Basic Auth or Header Auth) – Built directly into the Webhook node. This is the most straightforward and works with any service capable of sending headers.
• Use shared secrets or API keys in headers – You define a header like "x-api-key: YOUR\_SECRET", verify it inside the workflow.
• Signature verification when supported – e.g., Stripe, GitHub, Slack already sign payloads. Use an n8n Function node to validate the signature using your secret.
• IP allow‑listing – Only allow requests from specific IP ranges via your load balancer, firewall, reverse proxy (e.g., Cloudflare, NGINX).
• Don't expose production n8n UI or webhook URLs directly to the internet – Always place behind a reverse proxy or API gateway.
• Use n8n’s Response node to block malformed requests fast – Reject early if headers/secrets are missing before the workflow does anything costly.

 

How to use n8n's built‑in Webhook Authentication (strongly recommended)

 

This is the easiest method that works for most integrations.

In your Webhook node:

• Open your Webhook node.
• Enable Authentication.
• Select Basic Auth or Header Auth.

Example using Header Auth:

• Webhook node is configured with Header Name: x-api-key
• Header Value: a long secret stored in n8n credentials

Then the external service must send:

POST https://your-n8n/webhook/my-endpoint
x-api-key: superlongsecret123

If the header is missing or incorrect, n8n will automatically reject it with 403 before running the workflow. This is one of the safest and cheapest protections you can add.

 

Verifying signatures inside n8n (when the service signs the request)

 

Some providers sign webhook payloads (Stripe, GitHub, Notion, Slack). n8n does not auto‑verify these signatures; you verify them yourself in a Function node.

Example: verifying a SHA256 HMAC signature in n8n:

const crypto = require('crypto')

// Retrieve raw body and signature header
const raw = $json.rawBody         // Make sure "Raw Body" is enabled in Webhook node
const signature = $json.headers['x-signature']  // Header containing HMAC
const secret = $json.mySecret     // Store secret using n8n credentials

// Compute expected signature
const expected = crypto
  .createHmac('sha256', secret)
  .update(raw, 'utf8')
  .digest('hex')

// Compare signatures
if (expected !== signature) {
  throw new Error('Invalid signature')
}

return { verified: true }

This prevents payload tampering and guarantees the request came from the correct service.

 

IP allow‑listing through reverse proxy (NGINX example)

 

If the webhook source always uses known IP ranges (e.g., Stripe, Twilio, GitHub), you can block everything else before it reaches n8n.

location /webhook/ {
    allow 3.18.12.63;      // Example: Stripe IP
    allow 3.130.192.231;   // Example: Stripe IP
    deny all;
    proxy_pass http://n8n:5678;
}

This is extremely effective because bad traffic never even touches n8n.

 

Protecting n8n Cloud and Self‑Hosted differently

 

If you're self-hosting, you are responsible for:

• HTTPS termination
• Reverse proxy access rules
• Firewall configuration
• Scaling limits

In n8n Cloud, inbound traffic is already behind their infrastructure, but you still must secure your individual webhooks with authentication or signature verification.

 

Practical workflow pattern for secure webhooks

 

This keeps your workflow safe and fast:

• Webhook node with Header Auth enabled.
• Optional: Raw Body enabled if signature verification is needed.
• Immediately after: a Function node verifying signature/api keys.
• Then a Response node that returns 200 quickly.
• Actual heavy work runs after or in a separate workflow via Execute Workflow node.

This avoids long‑running requests and reduces risk of denial‑of‑service from slow clients.

 

The bottom line: In production, always combine at least two protections (Webhook Auth + signature verification or IP filtering). n8n leaves webhook URLs public by default, so securing them is something you must explicitly design.