Which versions of OpenClaw are affected by CVE-2026-43528?

OpenClaw gateway versions prior to 2026.4.14 contain an authentication bypass in credential redaction that allows authorized configuration readers to extract unencrypted API keys, authentication…. A patch is available.

How to fix or mitigate CVE-2026-43528?

Within 24 hours: Identify all OpenClaw deployments and document current version numbers and which internal users/service accounts possess config read permissions. Within 7 days: Upgrade all OpenClaw instances to version 2026.4.14 or later; apply principle of least privilege to restrict config read access to only essential roles. Within 30 days: Audit credential access logs for suspicious config read activity; rotate all API keys, gateway tokens, and channel credentials that existed in systems running vulnerable versions.

OpenClaw CVE-2026-43528

Q: What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-43528?

CVE-2026-43528 has a CVSS 4.0 base score of 7.1 (High). CVSS vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/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: 0.1%.

EUVD-2026-27267 HIGH

Improper Removal of Sensitive Information Before Storage or Transfer (CWE-212)

2026-05-05 VulnCheck

GHSA-8372-7vhw-cm6q

Authentication Bypass Openclaw

7.1

CVSS 4.0 · NVD

Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY

7.1 HIGH

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

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

Low

User Interaction

None

Scope

Lifecycle Timeline

Analysis Updated

May 05, 2026 - 12:51 vuln.today

v2 (cvss_changed)

Re-analysis Queued

May 05, 2026 - 12:37 vuln.today

cvss_changed

Severity Changed

May 05, 2026 - 12:37 NVD

MEDIUM HIGH

CVSS changed

May 05, 2026 - 12:37 NVD

6.5 (MEDIUM) 7.1 (HIGH)

Source Code Evidence Fetched

May 05, 2026 - 12:21 vuln.today

Analysis Generated

May 05, 2026 - 12:21 vuln.today

DescriptionCVE.org

OpenClaw before 2026.4.14 contains a redaction bypass vulnerability that allows authenticated gateway clients to receive unredacted secrets through sourceConfig and runtimeConfig alias fields. Attackers with config read access can exploit this to obtain provider API keys, gateway authentication material, and channel credentials that should have been redacted.

AnalysisAI

Authenticated configuration readers in OpenClaw gateway deployments can extract unredacted sensitive credentials through alias field bypass in versions prior to 2026.4.14. Attackers with legitimate config read permissions exploit sourceConfig and runtimeConfig alias fields to obtain provider API keys, gateway authentication tokens, and channel credentials that the redaction mechanism fails to sanitize. The vulnerability affects npm package 'openclaw' in gateway configurations where authenticated clients have config read access, confirmed fixed by vendor in version 2026.4.14 with patch commit 86734ef. CVSS 7.1 reflects network-accessible attack requiring low privileges with high confidentiality impact; no public exploit identified at time of analysis, though technical details published in GHSA-8372-7vhw-cm6q enable reproduction.

Technical ContextAI

OpenClaw is an npm-distributed gateway configuration management system. The vulnerability stems from CWE-212 (Improper Removal of Sensitive Information Before Storage or Transfer), where the redaction logic for config.get operations properly sanitized the 'resolved' and 'config' response fields but failed to apply the same redaction to 'sourceConfig' and 'runtimeConfig' alias fields. These aliases reference the same underlying data structures but bypassed the redaction codepath. When authenticated clients with config read permissions query configuration, the system returns multiple representations of the configuration object-the primary fields undergo redaction to strip secrets, but the alias fields returned raw unredacted values including provider API keys, gateway authentication material, and channel credentials. The fix in PR #66030 (commit 86734ef) explicitly overwrites both alias fields with the same redacted copies used for the primary fields, including handling the invalid-snapshot branch condition. The CPE identifier cpe:2.3:a:openclaw:openclaw:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* confirms this affects the OpenClaw product across versions prior to 2026.4.14.

RemediationAI

Upgrade to OpenClaw version 2026.4.14 or later, which contains the complete fix via PR #66030 and commit 86734ef93a2f25063371b04f1946eb300548acd4 available at https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/86734ef93a2f25063371b04f1946eb300548acd4. The patch explicitly overwrites sourceConfig and runtimeConfig alias fields with redacted copies, preventing credential leakage. For npm deployments, update package.json to require openclaw@2026.4.14 or newer and run npm update. Full vendor advisory with upgrade instructions available at https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-8372-7vhw-cm6q. If immediate patching is not feasible, implement compensating controls by restricting config read permissions to only essential gateway clients and auditing access logs for config.get queries targeting sourceConfig/runtimeConfig fields (note: this workaround reduces functionality and does not eliminate risk for users who retain config read access). Rotate all provider API keys, gateway authentication credentials, and channel secrets that may have been exposed to authenticated clients with config read access prior to patching, as these credentials should be considered potentially compromised. Review gateway access control policies to minimize the number of clients with config read permissions as defense-in-depth measure.