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GHSA-gwqp-86q6-w47g CVE-2026-22175

OpenClaw's exec allow-always can be bypassed via unrecognized multiplexer shell wrappers (busybox/toybox sh -c)

High npm
Severity
0.0 / 10
High · CVSS 4.0
Exploit chance (EPSS)
0.35%
Chance of exploitation in the next 30 days. Higher than 28.20% of scored vulnerabilities.
Known exploited
No
Not in CISA's catalog
Weakness
CWE-184 Incomplete List of Disallowed Inputs
Fix
2026.2.23
Upgrade openclaw to this version or later

Description

Summary

OpenClaw exec approvals could be bypassed in allowlist mode when allow-always was granted through unrecognized multiplexer shell wrappers (notably busybox sh -c and toybox sh -c).

Affected Packages / Versions

  • Package: openclaw (npm)
  • Affected: <= 2026.2.22-2
  • Latest published vulnerable version at triage time: 2026.2.22-2 (checked on February 24, 2026)
  • Fixed on main: yes
  • Patched release: 2026.2.23

Details

Wrapper analysis treated busybox/toybox invocations as non-wrapper commands in this path, so allow-always persisted the wrapper binary path instead of the inner executable. That allowed later arbitrary payloads under the same multiplexer wrapper to satisfy the stored allowlist rule.

The fix hardens wrapper detection and persistence behavior for these multiplexer shell applets so approvals bind to intended inner executables and fail closed when unwrap safety is uncertain.

Fix Commit(s)

  • a67689a7e3ad494b6637c76235a664322d526f9e

Release Process Note

patched_versions is pre-set to the released version (2026.2.23). This advisory now reflects released fix version 2026.2.23.

OpenClaw thanks @jiseoung for reporting.

Affected versions

npm

PackageVulnerableFixed in
openclaw
< 2026.2.23
2026.2.23

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 → 2026.2.23

npm
npm install openclaw@2026.2.23
yarn
yarn add openclaw@2026.2.23
pnpm
pnpm add openclaw@2026.2.23

Severity breakdown

CVSS 4.0 0.0

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

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

CVSS 3.1 7.1

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

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

Weakness

CWE-184: Incomplete List of Disallowed Inputs

The product implements a protection mechanism that relies on a list of inputs (or properties of inputs) that are not allowed by policy or otherwise require other action to neutralize before additional processing takes place, but the list is incomplete.

How to prevent it
  • Implementation: Do not rely exclusively on detecting disallowed inputs. There are too many variants to encode a character, especially when different environments are used, so there is a high likelihood of missing some variants. Only use detection of disallowed inputs as a mechanism for detecting suspicious activity. Ensure that you are using other protection mechanisms that only identify "good" input - such as lists of allowed inputs - and ensure that you are properly encoding your outputs.

References

Timeline

  1. Published
  2. Last updated by the source
  3. Latest EPSS score
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