Which versions of OpenClaw are affected by CVE-2026-53806?

OpenClaw before version 2026.5.12 contains a command execution bypass vulnerability that allows low-privileged remote users to circumvent security controls designed to restrict command execution.. A patch is available.

How to fix or mitigate CVE-2026-53806?

Within 24 hours: Inventory all OpenClaw deployments and identify instances running versions prior to 2026.5.12. Within 7 days: Upgrade affected instances to OpenClaw 2026.5.12 or later and confirm successful patch deployment. Within 30 days: Review role-based access controls to the exec feature and implement enhanced audit logging of command execution activity.

OpenClaw CVE-2026-53806

Q: What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-53806?

CVE-2026-53806 has a CVSS 4.0 base score of 7.7 (High). CVSS vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/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-2026-36312 HIGH

Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition (CWE-367)

2026-06-11 VulnCheck

GHSA-vxx3-6hc9-7cc3

Authentication Bypass Openclaw

7.7

CVSS 4.0 · Vendor: VulnCheck

Severity by source

Vendor (VulnCheck) PRIMARY

7.7 HIGH

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

vuln.today AI

8.8 HIGH

Network-reachable exec endpoint, low-privileged authenticated user (PR:L) per vendor vector, no user interaction, and arbitrary shell execution yields full CIA impact on the same component.

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

4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Primary rating from Vendor (VulnCheck).

CVSS VectorVendor: VulnCheck

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

Jun 11, 2026 - 21:27 vuln.today

DescriptionCVE.org

OpenClaw before 2026.5.12 contains a shell option parsing vulnerability that allows combined POSIX shell flags to bypass exec revalidation checks. Attackers can exploit this by using combined shell options to execute inline shell content without intended allowlist validation, potentially enabling unauthorized command execution when the affected feature is enabled.

AnalysisAI

Command execution bypass in OpenClaw before 2026.5.12 lets low-privileged remote users smuggle inline shell content past exec allowlist revalidation by combining POSIX shell flags into a single argument. The flaw exists because parsing logic treats grouped option characters differently from discrete flags, enabling unintended command paths when the affected exec feature is enabled. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, but the issue was reported by VulnCheck and a vendor advisory plus patch are available.

Technical ContextAI

OpenClaw exposes an exec interface that is supposed to revalidate invocations against an allowlist before handing them to a POSIX shell. The vulnerability sits in how the option parser tokenizes shell flags: discrete forms like '-c -s' are inspected, but combined forms (e.g. '-cs' or other grouped POSIX option clusters) are not normalized back to their constituent flags before the allowlist check. This is a classic CWE-367 time-of-check vs. time-of-use mismatch, where the security decision is made against one representation of the input and the shell then acts on a semantically richer one. The affected CPE is cpe:2.3:a:openclaw:openclaw:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* covering all versions prior to 2026.5.12.

RemediationAI

Vendor-released patch: upgrade OpenClaw to 2026.5.12 or later as published in advisory GHSA-vxx3-6hc9-7cc3 (https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-vxx3-6hc9-7cc3). If immediate upgrade is not possible, disable the exec feature that performs allowlist revalidation so the vulnerable code path cannot be reached - note this will break any legitimate workflow that depends on calling out to shell commands through OpenClaw. As a narrower compensating control, restrict the credentials that can reach the exec endpoint (PR:L is required) to a small set of trusted accounts and place the service behind network ACLs that limit who can authenticate at all, accepting that this reduces but does not eliminate the risk while the patch is pending. Cross-reference the VulnCheck advisory at https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-shell-option-parsing-bypass-in-exec-revalidation for any updated indicators.