Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/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
Network-reachable but AT:P precondition maps to AC:H; PR:L reflects required low-privilege auth; no availability impact and no scope change.
Primary rating from Vendor (VulnCheck).
CVSS VectorVendor: VulnCheck
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
OpenClaw versions before 2026.5.18 contain an authorization bypass vulnerability in skill command dispatch that allows lower-trust callers to execute or persist actions beyond their intended authorization. Attackers can bypass tool policy restrictions through configured input paths to perform unauthorized actions when the affected feature is enabled and reachable.
AnalysisAI
Authorization bypass in OpenClaw before version 2026.5.18 allows authenticated low-privilege callers to exceed their intended permissions within the skill command dispatch subsystem. Exploiting misconfigured or reachable input paths, an attacker can circumvent tool policy restrictions and execute or persist actions at a higher trust level than authorized when the affected feature is active and reachable. No public exploit code or active exploitation has been identified; the CVSS 4.0 score of 2.3 reflects the specific preconditions required for successful exploitation.
Technical ContextAI
OpenClaw (CPE: cpe:2.3:a:openclaw:openclaw:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*) is an agent or automation framework that implements a layered trust model governing which callers may invoke which skill commands through a dispatch system with configurable input paths. The root cause is CWE-863 (Incorrect Authorization) - the framework fails to correctly enforce trust-level boundaries before dispatching skill commands, permitting lower-trust principals to invoke actions or persist state reserved for higher-trust callers. The flaw is network-reachable (AV:N in the CVSS 4.0 vector) but the AT:P metric confirms that a specific attack condition must be present: the affected dispatch feature must be enabled and the relevant input paths must be configured and reachable.
RemediationAI
Upgrade OpenClaw to version 2026.5.18 or later, which resolves the authorization bypass in the skill command dispatch subsystem per the vendor advisory at https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-mhm4-93fw-4qr2. Where immediate upgrade is not operationally feasible, disable the affected skill command dispatch feature entirely if it is not required - this eliminates the attack surface but removes associated functionality. Alternatively, restrict network-level access to the dispatch endpoint to explicitly authorized, high-trust callers only using firewall rules or ingress controls, noting that this does not fix the underlying authorization logic and must be revisited upon upgrade.
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Same weakness CWE-863 – Incorrect Authorization
View allSame technique Authentication Bypass
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External POC / Exploit Code
Leaving vuln.today
EUVD-2026-45113
GHSA-xm8q-45rh-546c