Openclaw CVE-2026-32055

Authenticated user access to OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.2.26 with workspace write permissions. Attacker creates in-workspace symlinks targeting non-existent out-of-root paths to escape workspace boundary and write arbitrary files to the system.

The CVSS v3.1 score of 7.6 (High) reflects network attack vector (AV:N), low complexity (AC:L), low privileges required (PR:L), and high integrity impact (I:H) with low confidentiality and availability impacts. The attack requires authentication but is straightforward to execute once credentials are obtained, making it a practical threat in multi-user or hosted environments. The high integrity impact indicates significant potential for unauthorized file modification or creation in sensitive system directories. Patches are available from the vendor as evidenced by two commit references (46eba86b45e9db05b7b792e914c4fe0de1b40a23 and 1aef45bc060b28a0af45a67dc66acd36aef763c9), which reduces urgency for organizations that can deploy updates promptly. However, the network-accessible nature and low attack complexity mean this vulnerability should be prioritized for patching, particularly in environments where OpenClaw processes untrusted workspace content or operates in shared hosting scenarios. The combination of available patches and clear exploitation mechanics suggests organizations should treat this as a medium-to-high priority remediation item depending on their threat model and exposure.

An attacker with authenticated low-privilege access to an OpenClaw instance creates a symbolic link within their workspace pointing to a sensitive system path such as /etc/cron.d/ or application configuration directories. When OpenClaw performs its next write operation following the symlink, the boundary validation fails to detect the out-of-workspace target, allowing the attacker to create or overwrite files in the targeted location. This could enable privilege escalation through malicious cron job creation, configuration tampering, or code injection into application directories. The low attack complexity means exploitation requires only basic filesystem knowledge and legitimate user credentials.