Open-Source Security Intelligence

Know every vulnerability
before it knows you.

DevGuard continuously monitors your dependencies and alerts you when CVEs like this one affect your stack — with real-time threat intelligence built for developers.

Checkout DevGuardView on GitHub
Search

GHSA-3xfw-4pmr-4xc5

MediumCVSS 6.5 / 10
Published Mar 3, 2026·Last modified Jun 8, 2026
Affected Components(0)

No affected components available

Description

Summary

OpenClaw tools.exec.safeBins had a stdin-only policy bypass for grep. If pattern input was supplied through -e / --regexp, the validator consumed the pattern as a flag value and still allowed one positional operand. That positional could be a bare filename like .env.

Affected Packages / Versions

  • Package: openclaw (npm)
  • Latest published vulnerable version: 2026.2.19-2
  • Structured vulnerable range: <= 2026.2.19-2
  • Planned fixed range for next release: >= 2026.2.21

Exploit Preconditions

  • tools.exec.safeBins must include grep (this is opt-in; grep is not in the default safe-bin list).
  • An actor must be able to invoke exec tooling under that profile.

Technical Details

src/infra/exec-safe-bin-policy.ts configured grep with maxPositional: 1 and allowed -e / --regexp value flags. Because -e consumes the pattern in flag-value position, the remaining positional budget could be used for a file operand. Example accepted input in vulnerable builds:

grep -e SECRET .env

That violated the intended stdin-only guarantee for safe bins.

Impact

With grep opt-in enabled, callers could read bare-relative files from the working directory (for example .env, credentials.txt) in flows expected to be stdin-only.

Severity Rationale

CVSS v3.1 is set to: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N (5.3, Medium)

AC:H is used because exploitation depends on a non-default configuration (grep must be explicitly added to safe bins) in addition to normal low-privilege tool-invocation capability.

Fix Commit(s)

  • c6ee14d60e4cbd6a82f9b2d74ebeb1e8ee814964

Release Process Note

patched_versions is pre-set to >= 2026.2.21 so this advisory is ready to publish after the 2026.2.21 npm release is live.

OpenClaw thanks @athuljayaram for reporting.

Risk Scores
Base Score
6.5

The vulnerability can be exploited over the network without needing physical access. It is easy for an attacker to exploit this vulnerability. An attacker needs basic access or low-level 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.

Threat Intelligence
6.0

Exploitation attempts have been detected. Elevated vigilance and prompt remediation are advised.

EPSS
0.26%

The exploit probability is very low. The vulnerability is unlikely to be exploited in the next 30 days.

Exploit
Not available

We did not find any exploit available. Neither in GitHub repositories nor in the Exploit-Database.

Related Vulnerabilities

Browse More

Medium severity
Scan your project

Continuously monitor your dependencies and get alerted when vulnerabilities like this one affect your stack.

Checkout DevGuard