GHSA-mwcg-wfq3-4gjc CVE-2026-32043

OpenClaw's system.run approval TOCTOU via mutable symlink cwd target on node host

High npm

Severity: 0.0 / 10; High · CVSS 4.0
Exploit chance (EPSS): 0.10%; Chance of exploitation in the next 30 days. Higher than 0.95% of scored vulnerabilities.
Known exploited: No; Not in CISA's catalog
Weakness: CWE-367 Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition; CWE-59 Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')
Fix: 2026.2.25; Upgrade openclaw to this version or later

Description

Summary

In openclaw@2026.2.24, approval-bound system.run on node hosts could be influenced by mutable symlink cwd targets between approval and execution.

Details

Approval matching on the gateway validated command/argv and binding fields, including cwd, as provided text. Node execution later used runtime cwd resolution. A symlinked cwd could therefore be retargeted after approval and before spawn.

OpenClaw's trust model does not treat one shared gateway as a multi-tenant adversarial boundary, but approval integrity is still a security boundary for operator-reviewed command execution.

Affected Packages / Versions

Package: openclaw (npm)
Affected: <= 2026.2.24
Patched: >= 2026.2.25

Fix Commit(s)

f789f880c934caa8be25b38832f27f90f37903db

Remediation

The fix adds defense-in-depth hardening for approval-bound node execution:

reject symlink cwd paths for approval-bound system.run
canonicalize path-like executable argv before spawn
bind CLI approval requests to exact commandArgv

Release Process Note

Patched version is pre-set to the release (2026.2.25). Advisory published with npm release 2026.2.25.

OpenClaw thanks @tdjackey for reporting.

Affected versions

npm

Package	Vulnerable	Fixed in
openclaw	`< 2026.2.25`	`2026.2.25`

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 → `2026.2.25`

npm

npm install openclaw@2026.2.25

yarn

yarn add openclaw@2026.2.25

pnpm

pnpm add openclaw@2026.2.25

Severity breakdown

CVSS 4.0 0.0

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

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

CVSS 3.1 7.0

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

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

Weakness

CWE-367: Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition

The product checks the state of a resource before using that resource, but the resource's state can change between the check and the use in a way that invalidates the results of the check.

How to prevent it

Implementation: The most basic advice for TOCTOU vulnerabilities is to not perform a check before the use. This does not resolve the underlying issue of the execution of a function on a resource whose state and identity cannot be assured, but it does help to limit the false sense of security given by the check.
Implementation: When the file being altered is owned by the current user and group, set the effective gid and uid to that of the current user and group when executing this statement.
Architecture and Design: Limit the interleaving of operations on files from multiple processes.
Implementation, Architecture and Design: If you cannot perform operations atomically and you must share access to the resource between multiple processes or threads, then try to limit the amount of time (CPU cycles) between the check and use of the resource. This will not fix the problem, but it could make it more difficult for an attack to succeed.
Implementation: Recheck the resource after the use call to verify that the action was taken appropriately.
Architecture and Design: Ensure that some environmental locking mechanism can be used to protect resources effectively.
Implementation: Ensure that locking occurs before the check, as opposed to afterwards, such that the resource, as checked, is the same as it is when in use.

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

Advisories

nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-32043

Packages

github.com/openclaw/openclaw

Timeline

Mar 3, 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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