Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V5 - File Handling Symlink resolution safety
|
| Impact | The CVSS 3.1 score of 5.3 with vector CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L indicates a medium-severity vulnerability with low attack complexity and local attack vector, requiring low privileges and user interaction. While the CVSS score is moderate, the real-world risk is constrained by the local-only attack vector (AV:L) and requirement for prior authentication (PR:L), limiting the threat surface to authenticated local users with legitimate system access. No EPSS score, KEV tracking status, or public proof-of-concept has been identified in the provided intelligence, suggesting this is not currently an active exploitation target. The technical impact is bounded to confidentiality, integrity, and availability concerns limited to the application scope (S:U), making this a lower-priority vulnerability compared to network-exploitable flaws, though organizations running OpenClaw with untrusted local users should prioritize patching. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An authenticated local user with legitimate access to an OpenClaw instance submits a specially crafted file write request via the browser output handler containing path traversal sequences (e.g., ../../sensitive_location/file.txt). Due to insufficient canonical path validation, the application fails to detect the traversal and writes the attacker-controlled content to a location outside the intended root directory, such as a system configuration directory or application installation directory, potentially overwriting critical files or achieving privilege escalation. Low attack complexity (AC:L) means the traversal technique is straightforward and does not require race conditions or environmental factors. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Mar 18, 2026
OpenClaw prior to version 2026.3.2 allows local users with standard privileges to write files outside designated directories through insufficient path validation in the browser output handler. An attacker can exploit this path-confinement bypass to place malicious files in arbitrary filesystem locations, potentially leading to privilege escalation or system compromise.
Earlier versions of this analysis (1)
OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.3.2 contain a path-confinement bypass vulnerability in browser output and file write operations that allows authenticated local attackers to write files outside intended root directories. The vulnerability stems from insufficient canonical path-boundary validation, enabling directory traversal attacks that circumvent root-bound file restrictions. A patch is available from the vendor; exploitation requires local access with user-level privileges and is not currently tracked as actively exploited in known exploitation databases.
RemediationAI
Upgrade OpenClaw to version 2026.3.2 or later immediately; the vendor has released a patch available at https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/104d32bb64cdf19d5e77f70553a511a2ae90ad1c. Organizations unable to patch immediately should restrict local system access to OpenClaw installations to trusted administrators only, disable unnecessary local user accounts with OpenClaw access, and implement filesystem-level access controls (e.g., SELinux or AppArmor) to confine OpenClaw process writes to intended directories. Monitor file access logs for suspicious write operations outside the configured root directory.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in npm
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Technical ContextAI · show details
The vulnerability affects OpenClaw (CPE: cpe:2.3:a:openclaw:openclaw:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*) and is classified under CWE-59 (Improper Link Resolution Before File Access, also known as 'Link Following'). The root cause involves insufficient validation of canonical file paths in browser output handling mechanisms, allowing attackers to bypass directory confinement checks through path traversal sequences (e.g., ../ or similar bypass techniques). The flaw exists in the file write operations that are intended to confine output to a specific root directory but fail to properly normalize and validate user-supplied paths before performing filesystem operations.
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Severity by source
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.
CVSS VectorNVD
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.3.2 contain a path-confinement bypass vulnerability in browser output handling that allows writes outside intended root directories. Attackers can exploit insufficient canonical path-boundary validation in file write operations to escape root-bound restrictions and write files to arbitrary locations.
Blast Radius
ecosystem impact- 4 npm packages depend on openclaw (4 direct, 0 indirect)
Ecosystem-wide dependent count for version 2026.3.2.
Executive ViewAI
CVE-2026-22180 presents moderate security risk rated CVSS 5.3. Exploitation could compromise the security of affected deployments. A patch is available and should be applied during regular vulnerability management.
Apply vendor patch. If patching is delayed: restrict network access and enable monitoring.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Authentication bypass attacks exploit flaws in the verification mechanisms that control access to systems and applications.
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EUVD-2026-12726
GHSA-3pxq-f3cp-jmxp
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
VulDB
Exploit-DB