What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-22168?

CVE-2026-22168 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 6.5 (Medium). CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N. EPSS exploitation probability: 0.0%.

Which versions of Openclaw are affected by CVE-2026-22168?

CVE-2026-22168 presents notable security risk rated CVSS 6.5. Exploitation could compromise the security of affected deployments.. A patch is available.

How to fix or mitigate CVE-2026-22168?

Within 30 days: Identify affected systems and apply vendor patches as part of regular patch cycle. Vendor patch is available.

Openclaw CVE-2026-22168

EUVD-2026-12708 MEDIUM

Improper Neutralization of Argument Delimiters in a Command ('Argument Injection') (CWE-88)

2026-03-18 VulnCheck

GHSA-5v6x-rfc3-7qfr

Information Disclosure Microsoft Openclaw Windows

6.5

CVSS 3.1 · NVD

Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY

6.5 MEDIUM

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

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

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

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

Low

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

None

Availability

None

Lifecycle Timeline

EUVD ID Assigned

Mar 18, 2026 - 02:30 euvd

EUVD-2026-12708

Analysis Generated

Mar 18, 2026 - 02:30 vuln.today

Patch released

Mar 18, 2026 - 02:30 nvd

Patch available

CVE Published

Mar 18, 2026 - 01:34 nvd

MEDIUM 6.5

DescriptionCVE.org

OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.2.21 contain an approval-integrity mismatch vulnerability in system.run that allows authenticated operators to execute arbitrary trailing arguments after cmd.exe /c while approval text reflects only a benign command. Attackers can smuggle malicious arguments through cmd.exe /c to achieve local command execution on trusted Windows nodes with mismatched audit logs.

AnalysisAI

OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.2.21 contain an approval-integrity mismatch vulnerability in the system.run function that allows authenticated operators to execute arbitrary commands on Windows systems by appending malicious arguments after cmd.exe /c while the approval audit log records only the benign command text. An authenticated attacker with operator privileges can exploit this to achieve local command execution on trusted Windows nodes with mismatched or incomplete audit trails, enabling information disclosure and lateral movement while evading detection.

Technical ContextAI

The vulnerability exists in OpenClaw's system.run implementation, which processes Windows command execution through cmd.exe /c. The root cause is classified under CWE-88 (Argument Injection), where user-controlled input is insufficiently validated before being passed to command-line interpreters. The approval mechanism validates and logs only the initial command string, but the actual execution allows trailing arguments to be smuggled through to cmd.exe /c without re-validation. This creates a separation between what is approved and logged versus what actually executes. The affected product is OpenClaw (CPE: cpe:2.3:a:openclaw:openclaw:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*), a system automation and orchestration platform that manages command execution across Windows infrastructure.

RemediationAI

Upgrade OpenClaw to version 2026.2.21 or later immediately. The vendor has released a patch available at the GitHub commit link (https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/6007941f04df1edcca679dd6c95949744fdbd4df). Until patching is completed, implement the following interim controls: (1) restrict operator access to the system.run function to only trusted, audited operators; (2) enforce approval workflows that require explicit validation of the full command string including trailing arguments, not just the initial command; (3) implement enhanced logging and monitoring on Windows nodes to detect unexpected cmd.exe invocations with suspicious arguments; (4) segment OpenClaw infrastructure to limit blast radius of command execution; and (5) cross-validate audit logs against actual process execution logs using Windows Event Logging (Event ID 4688 for process creation) to detect approval-execution mismatches.