PT-2026-25439 · Npm · Openclaw

Published

2026-03-03

·

Updated

2026-03-03

CVSS v4.0

5.7

Medium

VectorAV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

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.

Fix

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Weakness Enumeration

CWE-436

Related Identifiers

GHSA-796M-2973-WC5Q

Affected Products

Openclaw