Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessInitiate legitimate pairing request
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DeliveryObtain pending bootstrap token from server
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ExploitCraft replay request with escalated scope claims
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ExecutionSubmit replay during open approval window
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ImpactGain pairing authority beyond intended scope limits
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A06:2025 - Insecure Design
ASVS 5.0
V8 - Authorization Privilege assignment review
|
| Exploitation Conditions | The attacker must already hold a valid pending bootstrap token, meaning they must have completed the initial pairing-request step with the target OpenClaw instance - fully external unauthenticated attackers without a pending token cannot exploit this flaw. Exploitation must occur within the specific time window between token issuance and the moment an administrator approves or rejects the pending pairing request (reflected in CVSS 4.0 AC:H and AT:P). The CVSS 4.0 UI:P (passive user interaction) indicates that an administrator must have triggered or be actively processing the approval workflow during the attack window. Non-default or high-value scope configurations amplify the impact but are not a prerequisite for exploitation. Factors that limit exploitation: the narrow and unpredictable approval timing window, the need for the attacker to have an existing pending token relationship with the target system, and the low CVSS impact ceiling (low confidentiality, low integrity). |
| Impact | The CVSS 4.0 score of 2.3 accurately reflects a low-risk vulnerability. The vector (AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:P) surfaces three significant dampeners: high attack complexity, a required attack target precondition (AT:P - the pending token must exist and sit in an open approval queue), and passive user interaction (an approval workflow must be in motion). Impact is bounded to low confidentiality and low integrity effects on the vulnerable system only, with no availability or subsequent-system consequences. No EPSS score was provided in the source intelligence; however, the combination of narrow exploitation window, specific preconditions, and limited blast radius suggests low opportunistic exploitation probability. The vulnerability is not listed in CISA KEV, and no public proof-of-concept has been identified. This is a real but low-severity logical flaw: a realistic concern for organizations where bootstrap pairing is used to grant high-value downstream access, but not an urgent remediation priority for most deployments. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker who has legitimately initiated a pairing request with an OpenClaw instance obtains a pending bootstrap token and, before an administrator approves or rejects it, replays that token against the API with a crafted request specifying a broader set of scopes than originally submitted. If the server processes the replayed request within the open approval window without re-validating the originally bound scope, the attacker's pairing authority is elevated beyond the intended limit. No public proof-of-concept exists, and the tight timing dependency and required target precondition make opportunistic exploitation unlikely. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Jun 16, 2026
Bootstrap token replay in OpenClaw before version 2026.5.12 permits callers holding a pending bootstrap token to resubmit that token with a broader scope than originally requested, bypassing intended pairing authority limits. The flaw, rooted in incorrect privilege assignment (CWE-266), exploits the gap between token issuance and administrative approval to escalate pairing access. No public exploit code has been identified and the vulnerability carries a CVSS 4.0 score of 2.3, reflecting significant mitigating factors including high attack complexity, a required target precondition, and passive user interaction - making this a low real-world priority outside environments with high-value pairing workflows.
RemediationAI
The primary fix is to upgrade OpenClaw to version 2026.5.12 or later, per the vendor GitHub Security Advisory GHSA-9v8j-9c9g-w66c (https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-9v8j-9c9g-w66c). If immediate patching is not feasible, restrict issuance of pending bootstrap tokens to the smallest possible set of trusted callers, thereby reducing the population that can attempt a replay. Shortening the administrative approval window - approving or rejecting pending tokens as quickly as possible - narrows the race condition window; this is operationally simple but introduces approval latency trade-offs. Implementing per-token scope pinning at issuance (rejecting any replay that differs from the originally requested scope) would serve as a compensating control if code changes are possible without a full upgrade. VulnCheck's advisory at https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-bootstrap-token-replay-via-pending-pairing-scope-widening provides additional context for scoping the fix.
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
OpenClaw (CPE: cpe:2.3:a:openclaw:openclaw:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*) implements a bootstrap token pairing mechanism in which tokens are issued in a pending state and must await administrator approval before granting full pairing authority. The root cause is CWE-266 (Incorrect Privilege Assignment): the token validation logic does not enforce scope boundaries on pending tokens during the replay window, allowing a caller to resubmit the same token with an expanded scope claim before the original approval decision is finalized. This is a logical authorization design flaw - not a memory corruption or injection class issue - where the system fails to bind a pending token irrevocably to its originally requested scope at issuance time, leaving the scope negotiable until approval.
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Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:P/VC:L/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
PR:L reflects that exploitation requires a pre-existing pending bootstrap token, implying a prior low-privilege relationship; AC:H captures the narrow approval-window timing dependency.
Primary rating from Vendor (VulnCheck).
CVSS VectorVendor: VulnCheck
Lifecycle Timeline
1DescriptionCVE.org
OpenClaw before 2026.5.12 contains a bootstrap token replay vulnerability allowing callers with pending token access to reuse tokens with broader requested scopes. Attackers can replay bootstrap tokens before approval to escalate pairing authority beyond intended scope limits.
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
Privilege escalation occurs when an attacker leverages flaws in access control mechanisms to gain permissions beyond what they were originally granted.
Auth bypass in OpenClaw voice-call extension before 2026.2.1. EPSS 0.68%. PoC and patch available.
Privilege escalation in OpenClaw (pre-2026.3.28) allows unauthenticated remote attackers to gain administrative access b
OpenClaw versions 2026.2.22 through 2026.2.24 contain a privilege escalation vulnerability that allows authenticated att
An authorization mismatch vulnerability in OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.3.1 allows authenticated users with operator.
OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.1.29 automatically establish WebSocket connections to attacker-controlled gateway URLs e
Path traversal in OpenClaw through version 2026.3.23 enables unauthenticated remote attackers to read arbitrary files in
Authentication bypass in OpenClaw before 2026.5.3 allows remote attackers with low privileges to receive agent responses
Directory-context bypass in OpenClaw before 2026.8.1 allows authenticated attackers with user interaction to reuse an 'a
Unauthenticated access to the noVNC observer interface in OpenClaw's Docker sandbox browser allows anyone who can reach
OpenClaw versions before 2026.2.26 allow authenticated attackers to write arbitrary files outside the workspace director
OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.2.22 contain a shell environment variable injection vulnerability in the system.run func
OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.2.22 contain a resource exhaustion vulnerability where the application fails to consiste
EUVD-2026-37164
GHSA-9v8j-9c9g-w66c
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
VulDB
Exploit-DB