PT-2026-25449 · Npm · Openclaw

Published

2026-03-03

·

Updated

2026-03-03

CVSS v4.0

7.5

High

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

Summary

In OpenClaw's macOS node-host path, system.run allowlist parsing in security=allowlist mode failed to reject command substitution tokens when they appeared inside double-quoted shell text.
Because of that gap, payloads like echo "ok $(id)" could be treated as allowlist hits (first executable token echo) while still executing non-allowlisted subcommands through shell substitution.

Affected Packages / Versions

  • Package: npm openclaw
  • Latest published affected version: 2026.2.21-2
  • Affected range: <= 2026.2.21-2
  • Patched version (planned next release): 2026.2.22
Notes:
  • Default installs are not affected (security=deny by default).
  • The issue requires opting into security=allowlist on the macOS node-host path.

Impact

Approval/authorization bypass in allowlist mode that can lead to unintended command execution on the node host.

Preconditions

  • Target uses macOS node-host / companion-app execution path.
  • Exec approvals set to security=allowlist.
  • Ask mode is on-miss or off.
  • Allowlist contains a benign executable used in a shell wrapper flow (for example /bin/echo).

Reproduction (example)

Use a shell-wrapper command where the visible executable is allowlisted but the quoted payload contains substitution:
  • command argv: /bin/sh -lc 'echo "ok $(/usr/bin/id > /tmp/openclaw-poc-rce)"'
  • allowlist pattern includes /bin/echo
Before the fix, allowlist analysis could resolve this as allowlisted while shell substitution still executed.

Remediation

  • Upgrade to 2026.2.22 (or newer) when released.
  • Temporary mitigation: set ask mode to always or set security mode to deny.

Fix Commit(s)

  • 90a378ca3a9ecbf1634cd247f17a35f4612c6ca6

Release Process Note

patched versions is pre-set to planned next release 2026.2.22. After npm release is out, advisory can be published directly.
OpenClaw thanks @tdjackey for reporting.

Fix

OS Command Injection

Found an issue in the description? Have something to add? Feel free to write us 👾
dbugs@ptsecurity.com

Weakness Enumeration

CWE-78

Related Identifiers

GHSA-9P38-94JF-HGJJ

Affected Products

Openclaw