GHSA-9mph-4f7v-fmvh

OpenClaw has agent avatar symlink traversal in gateway session metadata

Medium npm

Severity: 0.0 / 10; Medium · CVSS 4.0
Exploit chance (EPSS): —; No score published
Known exploited: No; Not in CISA's catalog
Weakness: CWE-59 Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')
Fix: 2026.2.22; Upgrade openclaw to this version or later

Description

Summary

A crafted local avatar path could follow a symlink outside the agent workspace and return arbitrary file contents as a base64 data: URL in gateway responses.

Impact

Confidentiality impact: local file read in the gateway process context.
Exfiltration path: agents.list can return the resulting avatarUrl payload.

Affected Components

src/gateway/session-utils.ts (resolveIdentityAvatarUrl)

Affected Packages / Versions

Package: openclaw (npm)
Introduced: v2026.1.21
Affected published versions: <= 2026.2.21-2
Planned patched version: 2026.2.22

Remediation

Resolve workspace and avatar paths with realpath and enforce realpath containment.
Open files with O_NOFOLLOW when available.
Compare pre-open and opened file identity (dev/ino) to block swap races.
Add regression tests for outside-workspace symlink rejection and in-workspace symlink allowance.

Fix Commit(s)

3d0337504349954237d09e4d957df5cb844d5e77

OpenClaw thanks @aether-ai-agent for reporting.

Affected versions

npm

Package	Vulnerable	Fixed in
openclaw	`< 2026.2.22`	`2026.2.22`

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 → `2026.2.22`

npm

npm install openclaw@2026.2.22

yarn

yarn add openclaw@2026.2.22

pnpm

pnpm add openclaw@2026.2.22

Severity breakdown

CVSS 4.0 0.0

CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Attack vector: Local
Attack complexity: Low
Attack requirements: None
Privileges required: None
User interaction: None
Confidentiality (vulnerable system): High
Integrity (vulnerable system): None
Availability (vulnerable system): None
Confidentiality (subsequent systems): None
Integrity (subsequent systems): None
Availability (subsequent systems): None

Weakness

CWE-59: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')

The product attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an unintended resource.

How to prevent it

Architecture and Design: Follow the principle of least privilege when assigning access rights to entities in a software system. Denying access to a file can prevent an attacker from replacing that file with a link to a sensitive file. Ensure good compartmentalization in the system to provide protected areas that can be trusted.

References

Packages

github.com/openclaw/openclaw

Timeline

Mar 4, 2026 Published
Mar 4, 2026 Last updated by the source

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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