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OpenClaw EUVDEUVD-2026-25328

| CVE-2026-41344 MEDIUM
Incorrect Authorization (CWE-863)
2026-04-23 VulnCheck GHSA-v3c2-39fm-jq4h
5.3
CVSS 4.0 · NVD
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Obtain write-scoped gateway credentials
  2. Delivery
    Send crafted chat.send request with /verbose parameter
  3. Exploit
    Trigger unguarded session mutation in directive-handling.impl.ts
  4. Execution
    Persist admin-only verboseLevel override to session state
  5. Impact
    Retrieve verbose reasoning and tool output on subsequent runs

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V8 - Authorization Authorization logic validation
MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique across 1 tactic: Privilege Escalation

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Exploitation Conditions

Exploitation requires possession of a valid write-scoped (operator.write) gateway credential for the target OpenClaw instance. The attacker must have network access to the chat.send endpoint. The /verbose parameter must be reachable via the chat.send path, which is the default behavior in all unpatched versions. Exploitation is limited by the requirement for pre-authenticated write-scope access - unauthenticated external attackers cannot exploit this directly. The impact is further bounded to information disclosure of verbose reasoning or tool output and session state persistence, with no direct availability impact. Deployments that do not issue write-scoped gateway credentials to lower-trust principals, or that run OpenClaw >= 2026.3.28, are not affected.

Impact

The CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:N) scores 5.3 Medium, reflecting low-complexity network exploitation requiring only write-scoped credentials, with limited confidentiality and integrity impact. This is broadly consistent with the real-world risk picture: EPSS is 0.05% at the 14th percentile, SSVC assigns exploitation=none, automatable=no, and technical impact=partial. The combination of no KEV listing, no known public exploit, and the requirement for pre-existing write-scoped gateway authentication makes this a low-urgency but legitimate authorization control failure. The primary real-world harm is information disclosure - an operator with write scope could expose verbose reasoning or tool output that administrators intended to restrict - rather than full system compromise. No conflicts between signals are present; all sources consistently characterize this as a medium-severity, low-exploitation-probability flaw. The SSVC automatable=no finding is consistent with the PR:L requirement ruling out unauthenticated mass exploitation.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An operator with a write-scoped gateway credential - a lower-privilege role legitimately issued for automated chat interactions - crafts a chat.send request that includes the /verbose parameter. This causes OpenClaw to persist a verboseLevel session override that would normally require administrator access via sessions.patch, enabling the caller to subsequently receive verbose output containing sensitive reasoning traces or tool invocation details that the deploying organization intended to restrict to administrators.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).
Patch available 0.0% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Jul 24, 2026

Privilege escalation in OpenClaw's chat.send gateway endpoint allows write-scoped API callers to bypass authorization controls and persist admin-only verboseLevel session overrides via the /verbose parameter. All OpenClaw npm package versions up to and including 2026.3.24 are affected; the vendor-released fix is version 2026.3.28. No public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis, and CISA SSVC assessment confirms no active exploitation with only partial technical impact, aligning with an EPSS score in the 14th percentile.

RemediationAI

Upgrade OpenClaw to version 2026.3.28 or later, which contains the fix introduced by commit c603123528 (fix(gateway): require admin for persisted verbose defaults). The patched release enforces admin-only authorization on the verboseLevel session persistence path regardless of which API endpoint triggers it. This is the primary and recommended remediation. If an immediate upgrade is not feasible, operators should restrict gateway write-scope credential issuance to trusted, admin-equivalent principals only, accepting the trade-off that this reduces the utility of the write-scope role. Alternatively, network-level controls that restrict access to the chat.send endpoint to known, trusted clients can reduce exposure, though they do not eliminate the authorization flaw. The vendor advisory and fix details are at https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-5h2w-qmfp-ggp6 and the specific fix commit is at https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/c6031235288a8d3bdf2243bd974340d8c8045bc2.

Affected VersionsENISA

OpenClaw 0 <2026.3.28

Affected Packages

npm openclaw fix: 2026.3.28

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 1 package in npm

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

OpenClaw is an npm-distributed AI gateway framework. The vulnerability resides in two source files: src/auto-reply/reply/directive-handling.impl.ts and src/gateway/sessions-patch.ts. The chat.send endpoint accepted the /verbose parameter and propagated it as a persisted session mutation - the same mutation that is correctly gated to administrators when accessed via the sessions.patch API path. CWE-863 (Incorrect Authorization) identifies the root cause: the application performs an authorization check, but it does so inconsistently across two code paths that share the same privileged operation. Write-scoped gateway callers (operator.write permission) are a lower-privilege role than administrators, yet the chat.send path never enforced the admin-only requirement before writing verboseLevel to session state. The CPE string cpe:2.3:a:openclaw:openclaw:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* covers all platform variants of the package.

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 5.3 MEDIUM
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
vuln.today AI 5.4 MEDIUM

Write-scoped gateway authentication required sets PR:L; network-accessible endpoint is AV:N; limited confidentiality and integrity impact from verbose output exposure and session override persistence with no scope change.

3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Primary rating from NVD.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Attack Requirements
None
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Vulnerable system: Confidentiality
Low
Vulnerable system: Integrity
Low
Vulnerable system: Availability
None
Subsequent system: Confidentiality
None
Subsequent system: Integrity
None
Subsequent system: Availability
None

Lifecycle Timeline

4
Patch released
Apr 29, 2026 - 15:52 nvd
Patch available
Patch available
Apr 24, 2026 - 02:01 EUVD
CVSS changed
Apr 23, 2026 - 22:28 NVD
5.4 (MEDIUM) 5.3 (MEDIUM)
CVE Published
Apr 23, 2026 - 21:58 nvd
MEDIUM 5.3

DescriptionCVE.org

OpenClaw before 2026.3.28 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability in the chat.send endpoint that allows write-scoped gateway callers to persist admin-only verboseLevel session overrides. Attackers can exploit the /verbose parameter to bypass access controls and expose sensitive reasoning or tool output intended to be restricted to administrators.

Blast Radius

ecosystem impact
† from your stack dependencies † transitive graph · vuln.today resolves 4-path depth
  • 3 npm packages depend on openclaw (3 direct, 0 indirect)

Ecosystem-wide dependent count for version 2026.3.28.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.0%
Top 86% exploitable
Prevalence
Low
niche npm AI gateway package, limited known enterprise footprint
Data Quality
8 sources
Confidence: High
EUVD NVD CVE.org EPSS Vulnrichment CIRCL GitHub VulDB

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.

SignalValue
Severity MEDIUM
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.0%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable
No
Human Impact· derived
Medium
Technical Impact
Partial

Priority Score

26
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +26
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Authentication bypass attacks exploit flaws in the verification mechanisms that control access to systems and applications.

Privilege escalation occurs when an attacker leverages flaws in access control mechanisms to gain permissions beyond what they were originally granted.

CVE-2026-28446 CRITICAL POC
9.4 Mar 05

Auth bypass in OpenClaw voice-call extension before 2026.2.1. EPSS 0.68%. PoC and patch available.

CVE-2026-33579 CRITICAL POC
9.4 Mar 31

Privilege escalation in OpenClaw (pre-2026.3.28) allows unauthenticated remote attackers to gain administrative access b

CVE-2026-32042 HIGH POC
8.8 Mar 21

OpenClaw versions 2026.2.22 through 2026.2.24 contain a privilege escalation vulnerability that allows authenticated att

CVE-2026-32051 HIGH POC
8.8 Mar 21

An authorization mismatch vulnerability in OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.3.1 allows authenticated users with operator.

CVE-2026-25253 HIGH POC
8.8 Feb 01

OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.1.29 automatically establish WebSocket connections to attacker-controlled gateway URLs e

CVE-2026-32846 HIGH POC
8.7 Mar 26

Path traversal in OpenClaw through version 2026.3.23 enables unauthenticated remote attackers to read arbitrary files in

CVE-2026-53857 HIGH POC
8.6 Jun 16

Authentication bypass in OpenClaw before 2026.5.3 allows remote attackers with low privileges to receive agent responses

CVE-2026-100530 HIGH POC
8.5 Sep 26

Directory-context bypass in OpenClaw before 2026.8.1 allows authenticated attackers with user interaction to reuse an 'a

CVE-2026-32064 HIGH POC
8.5 Mar 21

Unauthenticated access to the noVNC observer interface in OpenClaw's Docker sandbox browser allows anyone who can reach

CVE-2026-32055 HIGH POC
7.6 Mar 21

OpenClaw versions before 2026.2.26 allow authenticated attackers to write arbitrary files outside the workspace director

CVE-2026-32056 HIGH POC
7.5 Mar 21

OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.2.22 contain a shell environment variable injection vulnerability in the system.run func

CVE-2026-32049 HIGH POC
7.5 Mar 21

OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.2.22 contain a resource exhaustion vulnerability where the application fails to consiste

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