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GHSA-2fgq-7j6h-9rm4
No affected components available
Summary
system.run allowed SHELLOPTS + PS4 environment injection to trigger command substitution during bash -lc xtrace expansion before the allowlisted command body executed.
Affected Packages / Versions
- Package:
openclaw(npm) - Affected:
<= 2026.2.21-2(includes latest published npm version at triage time) - Patched (planned next release):
2026.2.22
Impact
In allowlist mode, an attacker who can invoke system.run with request-scoped env could execute additional shell commands outside the intended allowlisted command body.
Root Cause
Host exec env sanitization blocked startup-file vectors (BASH_ENV, ENV, etc.) but did not block SHELLOPTS/PS4. For shell wrappers (bash|sh|zsh ... -c/-lc), request env overrides were passed through and bash evaluated PS4 under xtrace, enabling command substitution.
Fix
- Block
SHELLOPTSandPS4in host exec env sanitizers (Node + macOS). - For shell wrappers (
bash|sh|zsh ... -c/-lc), reduce request-scoped env overrides to an explicit allowlist (TERM,LANG,LC_*,COLORTERM,NO_COLOR,FORCE_COLOR). - Add regression tests for TS and macOS paths.
Fix Commit(s)
e80c803fa887f9699ad87a9e906ab5c1ff85bd9a
Release Process Note
patched_versions is pre-set to the planned next release (2026.2.22). Once npm release 2026.2.22 is published, advisory publication is a final state action only.
Severity Rationale
This advisory is rated medium because exploitation requires a caller that can already invoke system.run with request-scoped env.
Under OpenClaw's documented trust model (SECURITY.md), authenticated Gateway callers are treated as trusted operators, and adversarial multi-operator / prompt-injection scenarios are out of scope.
The bug remains a real allowlist-intent bypass, but it does not cross a separate trust boundary in the documented deployment assumptions.
OpenClaw thanks @tdjackey for reporting.
The vulnerability can be exploited over the network without needing physical access. It is difficult for an attacker to exploit this vulnerability and may require special conditions. An attacker needs high-level or administrative privileges. No user interaction is needed for the attacker to exploit this vulnerability. The impact is confined to the system where the vulnerability exists. There is a high impact on the confidentiality of the information. There is a high impact on the integrity of the data. There is a high impact on the availability of the system.
Exploitation attempts have been detected. Elevated vigilance and prompt remediation are advised.
The exploit probability is very low. The vulnerability is unlikely to be exploited in the next 30 days.
We did not find any exploit available. Neither in GitHub repositories nor in the Exploit-Database.
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