Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
-
AccessAuthenticate as write-scoped non-owner caller
-
DeliverySubmit crafted chat.send turn
-
ExploitOwner-only gateway/cron tools exposed in inventory
-
ExecutionSteer agent to invoke config/cron ops
-
ImpactPersistent owner-level state changes applied
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A06:2025 - Insecure Design
ASVS 5.0
V8 - Authorization Least privilege enforcement
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 | Requires an OpenClaw Gateway deployment (before 2026.7.1) running an authentication mode that honors caller identity and enforces narrower operator scopes, where the affected agent tool policy still includes the |
| Impact | The vendor CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:H/VA:L, score 7.2) is internally consistent with the description: a network-reachable, low-privilege (write-scoped non-owner) caller with no user interaction can reach owner-only tooling, with the dominant impact being integrity (VI:H) via persistent configuration/scheduling changes, and only limited confidentiality/availability effect. No EPSS score, no CISA KEV listing, and no public exploit were provided, so this is no public exploit identified at time of analysis. A notable limiting factor stated by the vendor is that practical impact 'depends on the tools selected by the model and the caller's ability to steer the turn' - meaning exploitation is probabilistic/agent-mediated rather than a deterministic API call, which realistically lowers reliability below what the 7.2 base score implies. Exploitation is also gated to a specific deployment shape: Gateway deployments using identity-bearing authentication modes with narrower operator scopes; shared-secret token and password callers are explicitly out of scope as fully trusted operators. Net: a legitimate authorization-boundary flaw worth patching for anyone running multi-tenant/identity-scoped Gateway setups, but it is not a high-urgency mass-exploitation issue - it is a niche, config-dependent privilege-escalation with no evidence of exploitation. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | In an OpenClaw Gateway configured with identity-bearing auth and per-caller operator scopes, a write-scoped non-owner user submits a chat.send request and steers the agent turn so its tool inventory includes the owner-only |
Get an e-mail when this CVE is exploited, patched or re-scored. Free account.
Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Sep 26, 2026
OpenClaw Gateway before 2026.7.1 fails to restrict owner-only infrastructure tools exposed through the chat.send endpoint, allowing an authenticated write-scoped non-owner caller to cause the agent to invoke owner-only configuration or scheduling operations, including persistent state changes. This privilege escalation (CWE-269) affects Gateway deployments using authentication modes that honor caller identity and narrower operator scopes, and where agent tool policies include the gateway and cron tools; shared-secret token and password callers are treated as fully trusted and are out of scope. No public exploit code identified at time of analysis; the vendor CVSS 4.0 score is 7.2 with integrity impact dominant.
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch: upgrade OpenClaw to 2026.7.1 or later. For deployments that cannot immediately upgrade, apply the documented workaround: restrict the chat.send endpoint to administrators in identity-bearing deployments, and remove the gateway and cron tools from affected agent tool policies. Note that shared-secret token and password callers are considered fully trusted and are not affected; however, if identity-bearing authentication is intended, ensure those modes are not relied upon. After upgrading or applying the workaround, verify that non-owner callers cannot start chat turns that expose owner-only tools. Consult the vendor advisory at https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-qw7m-h363-33qw for further details.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
OpenClaw is a Node.js-based AI agent framework distributed as the npm package openclaw. The vulnerability resides in the chat.send endpoint, which constructs a chat turn with a tool inventory based on the caller's identity and operator scopes. In Gateway deployments configured with identity-bearing authentication modes (not shared-secret token or password modes), a write-scoped non-owner caller can start a chat turn whose tool inventory incorrectly includes the gateway and cron tools. These tools are intended for owner-only use and allow configuration or scheduling operations that persist state. The root cause is CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management): the system does not properly restrict which tools are exposed to lower-privileged callers based on their scope. The affected CPE is cpe:2.3:a:openclaw:openclaw:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* (all versions before 2026.7.1). Our independent assessment (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:L) aligns with the vendor's CVSS 4.0 vector, emphasizing integrity impact (VI:H) via persistent changes, with limited confidentiality and availability effects. Exploitation is contingent on the model actually selecting the owner-only tools during the turn and the caller's ability to steer the turn.
Know when Openclaw gets its next vulnerability
- Watch products and get an email when something new is published
- Check this CVE against your own stack and servers
- Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources
No credit card · 7-day full trial
Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:H/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Network-reachable endpoint (AV:N) needing a write-scoped non-owner account (PR:L) and no interaction; persistent owner-only config/scheduling changes drive I:H with limited C/A.
Primary rating from Vendor (VulnCheck).
CVSS VectorVendor: VulnCheck
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
OpenClaw (npm package openclaw) before 2026.7.1 fails to restrict owner-only infrastructure tools exposed through the chat.send endpoint. In Gateway deployments using authentication modes that honor caller identity and narrower operator scopes, a write-scoped non-owner caller can start a chat turn whose tool inventory includes the gateway and cron tools, causing the agent to invoke owner-only configuration or scheduling operations, including persistent state changes. Practical impact depends on the tools selected by the model and the caller's ability to steer the turn. Shared-secret token and password callers are treated as fully trusted operators under OpenClaw's security model and are outside the scope of this issue. The issue is fixed in 2026.7.1; as a workaround, restrict chat.send to administrators in identity-bearing deployments and remove gateway and cron from affected agent tool policies.
Articles & Coverage 1
Technical POC Analysis
Evidence base: the GHSA-qw7m-h363-33qw advisory text only.
Full technical POC analysis - root cause, step-by-step exploitation and patch breakdown - is part of the Pro and Business plans.
Executive ViewAI
OpenClaw Gateway deployments that use identity-aware authentication and enable the gateway and cron agent tools are exposed to a high-severity privilege escalation flaw. A write-scoped non-owner caller could cause persistent configuration or scheduling changes, potentially disrupting operations or enabling unauthorized modifications. Leadership should prioritize containment and monitoring because no vendor-released patch is currently available.
No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis. Interim mitigations: remove the gateway and cron tools from non-owner agent tool policies; restrict the chat.send endpoint to owner-only callers; enforce least privilege and review authentication modes; monitor logs for unauthorized configuration or scheduling changes.
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
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
OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.3.1 contain a sandbox escape vulnerability that allows authenticated attackers with low
EUVD-2026-87473
GHSA-9cj9-w25j-5478
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB