Which versions of Openclaw are affected by CVE-2026-22177?

CVE-2026-22177 presents moderate security risk rated CVSS 6.1. Exploitation could compromise the security of affected deployments.. A patch is available.

How to fix or mitigate CVE-2026-22177?

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

Openclaw CVE-2026-22177

Q: What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-22177?

CVE-2026-22177 has a CVSS 4.0 base score of 6.9 (Medium). CVSS vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X. EPSS exploitation probability: 0.0%.

EUVD-2026-12720 MEDIUM

External Control of System or Configuration Setting (CWE-15)

2026-03-18 VulnCheck

GHSA-8fmp-37rc-p5g7

RCE Openclaw

6.9

CVSS 4.0 · NVD

Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY

6.9 MEDIUM

CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

Low

User Interaction

None

Scope

Lifecycle Timeline

EUVD ID Assigned

Mar 18, 2026 - 02:30 euvd

EUVD-2026-12720

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 6.9

DescriptionCVE.org

OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.2.21 fail to filter dangerous process-control environment variables from config env.vars, allowing startup-time code execution. Attackers can inject variables like NODE_OPTIONS or LD_* through configuration to execute arbitrary code in the OpenClaw gateway service runtime context.

AnalysisAI

OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.2.21 contain an environment variable injection vulnerability that allows authenticated local attackers to execute arbitrary code at startup time by injecting dangerous process-control variables (such as NODE_OPTIONS or LD_*) through the configuration env.vars mechanism. An attacker with local privileges can manipulate the gateway service's runtime environment to achieve code execution in the service context, potentially compromising the entire OpenClaw deployment. A patch is available from the vendor, and this vulnerability has been documented by VulnCheck with supporting references to the GitHub security advisory and corresponding commit fix.

Technical ContextAI

OpenClaw is an application gateway service (cpe:2.3:a:openclaw:openclaw:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*) that processes configuration files containing environment variables. The vulnerability stems from a failure to implement proper input validation and filtering on environment variable names during the configuration parsing stage, which falls under CWE-15 (External Control of System or Configuration Setting). Process-control environment variables like NODE_OPTIONS (which can be used to load arbitrary Node.js modules), LD_PRELOAD, LD_LIBRARY_PATH, and similar variables allow attackers to influence how the application runtime initializes and loads code. Because these variables are evaluated at startup time before the application's main logic executes, sanitization must occur at configuration load time, not at runtime. The root cause is insufficient allowlisting or blacklisting of environment variable names when constructing the service's execution context.

RemediationAI

Immediately upgrade OpenClaw to version 2026.2.21 or later, which includes the environment variable filtering patch (commit 2cdbadee1f8fcaa93302d7debbfc529e19868ea4). Until patching can be completed, restrict local system access to the OpenClaw configuration files and service runtime environment, implement least-privilege user accounts for the gateway service, and conduct a configuration audit to ensure no suspicious environment variable entries have been injected into existing configurations. Review all configuration sources (files, container environment, Kubernetes ConfigMaps, etc.) for unauthorized additions of process-control variables. For deployments that cannot be immediately patched, consider running OpenClaw in a restricted container environment with read-only filesystems and limited environment variable inheritance to reduce the blast radius of exploitation. Consult the vendor advisory at https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-environment-variable-injection-via-config-env-vars for additional context and validation steps.