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GHSA-796m-2973-wc5q

MediumCVSS 5.7 / 10
Published Mar 3, 2026·Last modified Mar 4, 2026
Affected Components(0)

No affected components available

Description

Summary

tools.exec allowlist/safe-bins evaluation could diverge from runtime execution for wrapper commands using GNU env -S/--split-string semantics. This allowed policy checks to treat a command as a benign safe-bin invocation while runtime executed a different payload.

Affected Packages / Versions

  • Package: openclaw (npm)
  • Vulnerable versions: <= 2026.2.22-2 (latest currently published npm version)
  • Patched version (released): 2026.2.23

Impact

An attacker able to influence tool command text (for example via untrusted prompt/content injection reaching an exec-capable flow) could bypass allowlist/safe-bins intent and execute unexpected commands.

Technical Details

Root cause was policy/runtime interpretation mismatch for dispatch wrappers:

  • analysis resolved an effective executable from wrapper-unwrapped argv,
  • execution could still run original wrapper argv semantics,
  • safe-bin short-flag handling also allowed unknown short options in clusters.

Remediation

The fix hardens exec approvals to fail closed and enforce analysis/runtime parity:

  • introduce wrapper execution planning with semantic-wrapper blocking,
  • carry planned effectiveArgv + policyBlocked metadata through resolution,
  • evaluate allowlist/safe-bins against planned argv,
  • enforce canonical rebuilt shell command from planned argv for allowlist auto-paths,
  • use planned argv for node-host/mac exec-host invocation paths,
  • reject unknown short safe-bin flags,
  • add regression tests for semantic env wrappers and parity fixtures.

Fix Commit(s)

  • a1c4bf07c6baad3ef87a0e710fe9aef127b1f606

Release Process Note

patched_versions is pre-set to the released version (2026.2.23). Patched in 2026.2.23 and published.

OpenClaw thanks @jiseoung for reporting.

Risk Scores
Base Score
5.7

The vulnerability requires local access to the device to be exploited. 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.

Threat Intelligence
1.9

Limited exploitation activity has been observed. Close monitoring and planned remediation are recommended.

EPSS
N/A

Probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days.

Exploit
Not available

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

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Medium severity
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