OpenClaw Authorization Bypass and Policy Enforcement Flaws

Authorization bypass in OpenClaw versions 2026.1.20 through 2026.5.26 allows low-trust, authenticated callers to invoke the device.pair.approve feature and perform device-pairing approvals that should require stronger role-management authorization. Because the feature can be reached through configured input paths, an attacker holding only limited privileges can escalate their effective authority over device pairing, with high impact to confidentiality, integrity, and availability. There is no public exploit identified at time of analysis and the CVE is not listed in CISA KEV, but the flaw was reported by VulnCheck and carries a CVSS 4.0 base score of 8.7.

Authorization bypass in OpenClaw before 2026.6.5 lets a low-privileged, authenticated caller reach admin-scoped tools and perform privileged actions they should not be authorized for. The flaw stems from insufficient policy checks on configured input paths (CWE-862, Missing Authorization), so a lower-trust principal can escalate the scope of operations available to it. There is no public exploit identified at time of analysis and it is not listed in CISA KEV; the issue was reported by VulnCheck with a CVSS 4.0 base score of 7.7.

Privilege escalation and unauthorized action execution in OpenClaw before 2026.6.6 arises from incomplete environment-variable filtering in its host exec path, which fails to strip rustup startup variables before spawning processes. A low-privilege caller (PR:L) with access to lower-trust invocation paths or configured input paths can influence the child process environment to run or persist actions above their intended authorization level, yielding high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact. No public exploit identified at time of analysis and the issue is not listed in CISA KEV.

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.

Privilege escalation in OpenClaw's isolated cron job feature (versions 2026.6.1 through 2026.6.8) lets a lower-trust authenticated caller reclaim execution tools that authorization policy had explicitly denied, enabling actions and persistence beyond their intended trust level. The flaw is an incorrect-authorization (CWE-863) issue rooted in misconfigured input path handling within the cron subsystem, and carries a CVSS 4.0 score of 7.7. There is no public exploit identified at time of analysis and it is not listed in CISA KEV.

Privilege escalation via authorization bypass in OpenClaw's QQBot exec approvals feature affects builds from 2026.5.14-beta.1 up to (but not including) 2026.5.27, letting a lower-trust or non-allowlisted sender execute or persist actions beyond their intended authorization. The CVSS 4.0 vector requires low existing privileges (PR:L) and a present attack requirement (AT:P), meaning the exec approvals feature must be enabled and reachable for exploitation. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, and the issue is not listed in CISA KEV; a fixed release (2026.5.27) and a vendor security advisory are available.

Authorization bypass in OpenClaw before 2026.5.18 lets low-privileged, authenticated callers escalate their actions through the device-pair approval feature, executing or persisting operations beyond their intended trust level. The flaw stems from improper authorization checks (CWE-863) on device-pairing input paths, and per the CVSS 4.0 vector it fully compromises confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected system. There is no public exploit identified at time of analysis, and it is not listed in CISA KEV.

Authorization bypass in OpenClaw before 2026.5.18 lets a low-trust, authenticated caller escape the exec allowlist by abusing weak glob matching, executing or persisting actions beyond their intended authorization. Reported by VulnCheck and tracked as a path-traversal-class flaw (CWE-22), it carries a CVSS 4.0 score of 7.7 with high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact but requires the affected exec feature to be enabled. No public exploit identified at time of analysis; there is a GitHub security advisory and a corresponding VulnCheck advisory.

Authorization bypass in OpenClaw's ClickClack agent-mode dispatch (versions 2026.5.10-beta.1 through 2026.6.4) allows a lower-trust caller to invoke actions that should be blocked by the toolsAllow policy, because that policy check can be skipped during dispatch. With CVSS PR:L, an already low-privileged authenticated caller (or an attacker-controlled input path) can escalate the scope of actions when the agent-mode feature is enabled and reachable. No public exploit identified at time of analysis; the issue was reported by VulnCheck and fixed in 2026.6.5.

Untrusted plugin loading in OpenClaw before 2026.5.22 lets an attacker with lower-trust caller access, or control over configured input paths, get malicious workspace plugins loaded through the setup-mode discovery process, executing or persisting actions above their intended authorization level. Exploitation is local and requires active user interaction plus a specific attack precondition (CVSS 4.0 base 7.1), and there is no public exploit identified at time of analysis. The root cause is inclusion of functionality from an untrusted control sphere (CWE-829) during setup-mode plugin discovery.

WebSocket authentication rate limit bypass in OpenClaw versions 2026.2.25 through pre-2026.5.26 enables lower-trust callers or configured non-browser input paths to flood authentication attempts without being throttled at the gateway layer. The impact is limited to availability - an attacker can consume gateway connection and compute resources, degrading service for legitimate users. No public exploit has been identified at time of analysis and OpenClaw does not appear in the CISA KEV catalog.

Bot token and credential exposure in OpenClaw Bot Framework (versions before 2026.5.28) enables low-privilege authenticated callers to exfiltrate sensitive authentication data by supplying crafted serviceUrl values that circumvent trusted boundary validation. The flaw resides in the Microsoft Teams integration component (openclaw:msteams) and allows attackers to redirect credential-bearing requests to attacker-controlled endpoints, compromising bot tokens and downstream authentication secrets. No public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis, and the vulnerability is not listed in CISA KEV; however, the CVSS 4.0 score of 6.0 reflects high confidentiality impact contingent on a specific attack prerequisite (AT:P) and low-privilege access.

Token leakage in OpenClaw's MS Teams integration (versions before 2026.5.27) allows lower-trust authenticated callers to retrieve Bot Framework tokens that should remain within the application's trusted boundary. Attackers exploit access to configured input paths involved in outbound MS Teams requests to harvest bearer tokens, which can then be used to authenticate to downstream Microsoft Bot Framework or Teams services as the compromised bot identity. No public exploit code exists and this vulnerability is not listed in CISA KEV, but the high confidentiality impact (VC:H) and credential theft potential make patching a priority for any organization running this integration.

Missing authorization in OpenClaw's Discord moderation action handling allows a low-privilege caller to perform moderation operations - such as banning, kicking, or muting users - that should require elevated permissions. All OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.6.9 are affected per the vendor's GitHub security advisory (GHSA-f6p7-6326-vf7v), reported by VulnCheck. No public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis, and the vulnerability is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog; however, the CVSS 4.0 integrity impact is rated High, reflecting meaningful abuse potential where a lower-trust actor gains outsized moderation authority over a Discord community.

Authorization header leakage in OpenClaw before 2026.6.5 exposes credentials to unintended servers during MCP SSE redirect handling, allowing an authenticated lower-trust caller to gain access to resources beyond their intended authorization scope. The vulnerability affects deployments where the MCP SSE redirect feature is enabled and reachable by lower-trust input paths, with practical impact varying by operator configuration. Vendor-released patch 2026.6.5 is available; no public exploit code or active exploitation has been identified at time of analysis.

Missing authorization controls in OpenClaw's MS Teams message actions feature permit a low-privilege authenticated caller to invoke operations that should require elevated permissions or policy checks, resulting in high integrity impact (VI:H per the CVSS 4.0 vector) on affected deployments. The flaw spans versions 2026.4.12-beta.1 through 2026.6.5, and practical severity is configuration-dependent - exploitation is gated on the MS Teams feature being enabled and reachable. No public exploit code exists and the vulnerability is not in the CISA KEV catalog; the vendor confirmed and patched the issue in 2026.6.6.

Denial of service in OpenClaw gateway via slow-read attacks against remote media URL processing affects all versions before 2026.6.1. Attackers with access to configured input paths can supply crafted remote media URLs that hold gateway worker connections open indefinitely, gradually exhausting the worker pool and degrading availability for legitimate requests. No active exploitation has been confirmed (not listed in CISA KEV) and no public POC has been identified at time of analysis, but the network-reachable vector and high availability impact make this a meaningful operational risk for exposed deployments.

Authorization bypass in OpenClaw's hooks `allowedAgentIds` validation allows a lower-trust authenticated caller to circumvent agent ID restrictions by submitting blank agent IDs, effectively elevating privileges to perform actions gated behind stronger policy controls. Affected versions span OpenClaw 2026.2.12 through versions prior to 2026.5.26, with the flaw traceable to improper input validation of the agent identifier field during hook processing. No public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis, and the vulnerability is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, though the high integrity impact (VI:H per CVSS 4.0) signals meaningful risk to deployments that rely on agent-scoped authorization boundaries.

Authorization bypass in OpenClaw (versions 2026.3.28 through before 2026.5.19) allows low-privileged network attackers to exploit the browser act route's failure to validate current-tab URLs, enabling Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) that crosses authorization boundaries into restricted resources. The CVSS 4.0 scope-change metrics (SC:H/SI:L with VC:N/VI:N/VA:N) reveal that the primary impact falls on subsequent systems rather than OpenClaw itself - meaning attackers can reach internal resources or perform policy-restricted actions using their laundered, lower-trust credentials. No public exploit code or CISA KEV active exploitation listing has been identified at time of analysis.

DNS rebinding protection bypass in OpenClaw before 2026.5.28 allows a lower-privileged caller to win a TOCTOU race window in the MS Teams safeFetch DNS validation path, potentially enabling requests to internal or restricted resources that should have been blocked by policy. Exploitation requires the safeFetch DNS rebinding check feature to be both enabled and reachable, and practical impact is heavily configuration-dependent. No public exploit code has been identified and no CISA KEV listing exists; the issue is confirmed via a vendor GitHub security advisory and VulnCheck reporting.

Authentication bypass in OpenClaw before 2026.6.5 enables lower-trust network callers to forge A2UI actions that require higher authorization by submitting crafted HTTP Canvas responses through configured input paths. The flaw (CWE-345: Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity) allows an attacker to subvert OpenClaw's trust hierarchy and execute privileged actions on downstream systems (SC:H/SI:H per CVSS 4.0), without any direct impact on the OpenClaw instance itself. No public exploit has been identified and the vulnerability is not in the CISA KEV catalog; the CVSS 4.0 score of 5.1 reflects significant real-world constraints from high attack complexity and required user interaction.

Network policy bypass via Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) in OpenClaw's sandbox exec-server allows lower-trust callers to route HTTP requests to internal network destinations that OpenClaw policy is explicitly configured to block. All OpenClaw installations before version 2026.6.6 are affected. The CVSS 4.0 vector scores subsequent-system confidentiality impact as High (SC:H), reflecting that successfully bypassed network policies expose internal infrastructure - not the OpenClaw host itself - to unauthorized access. No public exploit code has been identified and this CVE is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog at time of analysis.

Server-side request forgery in OpenClaw's browser snapshot routes allows lower-privileged authenticated users to bypass the platform's network policy controls and reach internal destinations that should be blocked. Affected versions span 2026.4.14 through 2026.5.25; the fix shipped in 2026.5.26 per the vendor's GitHub security advisory. No public exploit code has been identified and this CVE is not listed in CISA KEV, though the CVSS 4.0 subsequent-system confidentiality rating of High reflects the real potential for lateral access to sensitive internal services.

Credential redaction bypass in OpenClaw before version 2026.6.1 allows lower-privileged local users to extract sensitive credentials through the trajectory export feature by exploiting misconfigured input paths or improperly accessible export functionality. The product's redaction controls fail to enforce trust boundaries, causing credentials that should remain opaque to lower-trust callers to surface in export output. No public exploit has been identified at time of analysis; exploitation requires local access, low privileges, and user interaction, which constrains realistic risk despite the high confidentiality impact when conditions are met.

Authorization bypass in OpenClaw MS Teams before 2026.5.12 allows authenticated lower-privileged users to escalate their effective permissions by spoofing display names that the `allowFrom` access-control feature trusts as immutable identifiers. The root flaw (CWE-290) is that the authorization decision is anchored to a mutable attribute - the display name - rather than a stable, non-spoofable identity token. No public exploit code and no CISA KEV listing have been identified at time of analysis; the CVSS 4.0 score of 2.3 reflects the limited blast radius and the attack requirement precondition.

Incorrect authorization in OpenClaw's ClickClack allowFrom feature permits a lower-trust, authenticated caller to exceed their intended permission boundary - executing or persisting non-allowlisted commands - on versions 2026.5.12 through before 2026.5.26. The flaw (CWE-863) is contingent on the ClickClack allowFrom feature being both enabled and reachable, which meaningfully limits the exploitable population. No public exploit exists and the vulnerability is not listed in CISA KEV; a CVSS 4.0 score of 2.3 reflects the constrained attack surface.

OpenClaw's QQBot media upload feature fails to enforce network-destination policy for lower-trust callers, enabling server-side requests to reach internal or blocked network addresses. Versions 2026.4.20 up to (but not including) 2026.5.28 are affected; the CVSS 4.0 score of 2.3 reflects that practical impact is tightly bounded by operator configuration - only subsequent-system confidentiality at a Low level is indicated (SC:L), with no direct impact to the vulnerable component itself. No public exploit code or active exploitation has been identified at time of analysis.

Authorization bypass in OpenClaw before version 2026.5.18 allows authenticated low-privilege callers to exceed their intended permissions within the skill command dispatch subsystem. Exploiting misconfigured or reachable input paths, an attacker can circumvent tool policy restrictions and execute or persist actions at a higher trust level than authorized when the affected feature is active and reachable. No public exploit code or active exploitation has been identified; the CVSS 4.0 score of 2.3 reflects the specific preconditions required for successful exploitation.