Which versions of OpenClaw are affected by CVE-2026-62228?

OpenClaw's approval workflow can be circumvented by authenticated users to execute operations that should be restricted to higher-privilege roles, undermining governance controls designed to prevent…. A patch is available.

How to fix or mitigate CVE-2026-62228?

Within 24 hours: identify all OpenClaw deployments running versions before 2026.6.5, enumerate authenticated user accounts with access to each instance, and retrieve execution logs from the past 30 days for forensic analysis. Within 7 days: restrict OpenClaw authentication to essential personnel only, verify that gateway and node environment configurations are aligned (addressing the root cause of the authorization bypass), and implement enhanced audit logging for all approval workflow and node execution requests. Within 30 days: conduct a comprehensive forensic audit of high-privilege node actions performed in recent months to detect any unauthorized escalations, establish continuous monitoring and alerting for suspicious execution patterns, and prepare procedures for immediate deployment of the vendor patch once CVE-2026-62228 fixes are released.

OpenClaw CVE-2026-62228

Q: What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-62228?

CVE-2026-62228 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: 0.3%.

EUVD-2026-45116 HIGH

Incorrect Authorization (CWE-863)

2026-07-17 VulnCheck

GHSA-xjjc-hxq8-fxj5

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

7.5 HIGH

Network-reachable but needs an existing low-priv account (PR:L) and a specific environment mismatch (AC:H); full CIA impact on the host with no scope change.

3.1 AV:N/AC:H/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

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

Low

User Interaction

None

Scope

Lifecycle Timeline

Patch available

Jul 17, 2026 - 02:32 EUVD

Analysis Generated

Jul 17, 2026 - 00:56 vuln.today

CVE Published

Jul 17, 2026 - 00:07 cve.org

HIGH 7.7

DescriptionCVE.org

OpenClaw before 2026.6.5 contain an authorization bypass vulnerability in node exec approvals that allows lower-trust callers to execute actions beyond their intended authorization by using different gateway and node environments. Attackers can exploit mismatched environment configurations to persist or execute actions that exceed the caller's approved permissions.

AnalysisAI

Authorization bypass in OpenClaw before 2026.6.5 lets a low-trust, authenticated caller execute node exec actions beyond their approved permissions by exploiting mismatched gateway and node environment configurations. The flaw (CWE-863, Incorrect Authorization) enables privilege escalation within the approval workflow and can be used to persist or run unauthorized actions. Reported by VulnCheck with a CVSS 4.0 base of 7.7; no public exploit identified at time of analysis and it is not listed in CISA KEV.

Technical ContextAI

OpenClaw implements a node exec approval mechanism in which callers request execution of actions that are gated by trust levels tied to gateway and node environments. The vulnerability is a CWE-863 (Incorrect Authorization) defect: the approval logic evaluates permissions against one environment context while execution occurs in another, so authorization decisions made for a lower-trust gateway/node pairing are honored when the action is actually dispatched into a higher-trust environment. Because the check and the enforcement point rely on different environment configurations, a caller can select or induce a mismatch that causes the system to treat their request as sufficiently authorized. The single affected product is identified by cpe:2.3:a:openclaw:openclaw (all versions prior to 2026.6.5).

RemediationAI

Upgrade to OpenClaw 2026.6.5 or later, which is the first fixed release (Vendor-released patch: 2026.6.5); consult the GitHub advisory GHSA-8f46-3xx3-8c9m (https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-8f46-3xx3-8c9m) and the VulnCheck advisory (https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-authorization-bypass-via-node-exec-approvals) for details. If immediate patching is not possible, reduce exposure by aligning gateway and node environment configurations so that no lower-trust caller can be mapped into a higher-trust execution context, and by tightening who holds the low-level accounts able to submit node exec approval requests - with the trade-off that consolidating environments may disrupt legitimate multi-environment workflows. Additionally restrict network access to the node exec/approval endpoints to trusted operators only, accepting that this narrows legitimate automation reach until the upgrade is applied.