GHSA-wpph-cjgr-7c39 CVE-2026-32039

OpenClaw's typed sender-key matching for toolsBySender prevents identity-collision policy bypass

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 9.46% of scored vulnerabilities.
Known exploited: No; Not in CISA's catalog
Weakness: CWE-639 Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key; CWE-863 Incorrect Authorization
Fix: 2026.2.22; Upgrade openclaw to this version or later

Description

Summary

channels.*.groups.*.toolsBySender could match a privileged sender policy using a colliding mutable identity value (for example senderName or senderUsername) when deployments used untyped keys.

The fix introduces explicit typed sender keys (id:, e164:, username:, name:), keeps legacy untyped keys on a deprecated ID-only path, and adds regression coverage to prevent cross-identifier collisions.

Affected Packages / Versions

Package: npm openclaw
Affected versions: <= 2026.2.21-2
Latest published npm version at triage time (February 22, 2026): 2026.2.21-2
Patched version (planned next release): 2026.2.22

Impact

This is a sender-authorization bypass in group tool policy matching for deployments that use toolsBySender with untyped keys. Under those conditions, an attacker could inherit stronger tool permissions intended for another sender if they can force an identifier collision.

Fix Commit(s)

5547a2275cb69413af3b62c795b93214fe913b57

Release Process Note

patched_versions is pre-set to the planned next release (2026.2.22). Once that npm release is published, this advisory should only need publishing.

OpenClaw thanks @jiseoung 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:N/AC:H/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

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

CVSS 3.1 5.9

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

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

Weakness

CWE-639: Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key

The system's authorization functionality does not prevent one user from gaining access to another user's data or record by modifying the key value identifying the data.

How to prevent it

Architecture and Design: For each and every data access, ensure that the user has sufficient privilege to access the record that is being requested.
Architecture and Design, Implementation: Make sure that the key that is used in the lookup of a specific user's record is not controllable externally by the user or that any tampering can be detected.
Architecture and Design: Use encryption in order to make it more difficult to guess other legitimate values of the key or associate a digital signature with the key so that the server can verify that there has been no tampering.

CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization

The product performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action, but it does not correctly perform the check.

How to prevent it

Architecture and Design: Divide the product into anonymous, normal, privileged, and administrative areas. Reduce the attack surface by carefully mapping roles with data and functionality. Use role-based access control (RBAC) [REF-229] to enforce the roles at the appropriate boundaries. Note that this approach may not protect against horizontal authorization, i.e., it will not protect a user from attacking others with the same role.
Architecture and Design: Ensure that access control checks are performed related to the business logic. These checks may be different than the access control checks that are applied to more generic resources such as files, connections, processes, memory, and database records. For example, a database may restrict access for medical records to a specific database user, but each record might only be intended to be accessible to the patient and the patient's doctor [REF-7].
Architecture and Design: Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid. For example, consider using authorization frameworks such as the JAAS Authorization Framework [REF-233] and the OWASP ESAPI Access Control feature [REF-45].
Architecture and Design: For web applications, make sure that the access control mechanism is enforced correctly at the server side on every page. Users should not be able to access any unauthorized functionality or information by simply requesting direct access to that page. One way to do this is to ensure that all pages containing sensitive information are not cached, and that all such pages restrict access to requests that are accompanied by an active and authenticated session token associated with a user who has the required permissions to access that page.
System Configuration, Installation: Use the access control capabilities of your operating system and server environment and define your access control lists accordingly. Use a "default deny" policy when defining these ACLs.

References

Advisories

nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-32039

Packages

github.com/openclaw/openclaw

Timeline

Mar 3, 2026 Published
Jun 17, 2026 Last updated by the source
Nov 1, 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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