GHSA-8j2w-6fmm-m587 CVE-2026-32031

OpenClaw: /api/channels gateway-auth boundary bypass via path canonicalization mismatch

Medium npm

Severity: 0.0 / 10; Medium · CVSS 4.0
Exploit chance (EPSS): 0.20%; Chance of exploitation in the next 30 days. Higher than 9.77% of scored vulnerabilities.
Known exploited: No; Not in CISA's catalog
Weakness: CWE-288 Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel
Fix: 2026.2.26; Upgrade openclaw to this version or later

Description

Summary

Gateway auth for plugin channel endpoints can be bypassed when path canonicalization differs between the gateway guard and plugin handler routing.

Details

On affected versions, server-http only applies gateway auth when raw requestPath matches exactly:

/api/channels
/api/channels/*

If a plugin handler canonicalizes path input (for example decodeURIComponent(pathname).toLowerCase()), requests like:

/API/channels/nostr/default/profile
/api/channels%2Fnostr%2Fdefault%2Fprofile can be interpreted as /api/channels/* by the plugin, while the gateway auth guard is skipped.

Impact

Authentication boundary bypass for plugin channel HTTP routes under canonicalization mismatch conditions. Unauthorized callers may access plugin channel APIs that are expected to require gateway auth.

CWE: CWE-288 (Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel) CVSS: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N (Base 5.3, Moderate)

Affected versions

npm

Package	Vulnerable	Fixed in
openclaw	`< 2026.2.26`	`2026.2.26`

How to fix

Move to the fixed version or later with your package manager, update the lockfile, and run your tests. If the package only arrives through another dependency, upgrade that dependency first. If none of its releases pulls a fixed version yet, force the version with your package manager's override.

openclaw npm → `2026.2.26`

npm

npm install openclaw@2026.2.26

yarn

yarn add openclaw@2026.2.26

pnpm

pnpm add openclaw@2026.2.26

Severity breakdown

CVSS 4.0 0.0

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

Attack vector: Network
Attack complexity: High
Attack requirements: None
Privileges required: None
User interaction: None
Confidentiality (vulnerable system): Low
Integrity (vulnerable system): Low
Availability (vulnerable system): None
Confidentiality (subsequent systems): None
Integrity (subsequent systems): None
Availability (subsequent systems): None
Exploit maturity: Not defined
Scope: X

CVSS 3.1 4.8

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N

Attack vector: Network
Attack complexity: High
Privileges required: None
User interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: Low
Integrity: Low
Availability: None

Weakness

CWE-288: Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel

The product requires authentication, but the product has an alternate path or channel that does not require authentication.

How to prevent it

Architecture and Design: Funnel all access through a single choke point to simplify how users can access a resource. For every access, perform a check to determine if the user has permissions to access the resource.

References

Advisories

nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-32031

Packages

github.com/openclaw/openclaw

Timeline

Mar 12, 2026 Published
Jun 17, 2026 Last updated by the source
Oct 31, 2026 Latest EPSS score

Advisory	Severity	Why it's related
GHSA-3x84-qq85-fj65 OpenClaw: Browser CDP discovery could accept blocked WebSocket URLs	High	Also affects openclaw
GHSA-9c3v-684m-579c OpenClaw MCP SSE redirects could forward Authorization headers	Medium	Also affects openclaw
GHSA-f397-5vjw-v2c2 OpenClaw: Shell inline-command parsing could miss an allowlist check	High	Also affects openclaw
GHSA-rx78-29qr-5hq8 OpenClaw: Workspace-derived service PATH could influence trash command selection	High	Also affects openclaw
GHSA-ccwh-wwpp-6wg5 OpenClaw: Host environment sanitizer missed two Node.js control variables	High	Also affects openclaw
GHSA-985f-72mj-8gf7 OpenClaw: Tool group policy callers could accept unvalidated group IDs	Medium	Also affects openclaw
GHSA-9v8j-9c9g-w66c OpenClaw: Bootstrap token replay could widen pending pairing scopes	Medium	Also affects openclaw
GHSA-c226-q6fx-6j6c OpenClaw: macOS Swift exec allowlist missed combined POSIX inline flags	Medium	Also affects openclaw

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