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BREW-OPENCLAW-CLI-CVE-20… (GHSA-CCG8-46R6-9QGJ)

Vulnerability from osv_homebrew – Published: 2026-08-13 17:21 – Updated: 2026-09-17 17:24 – Source website
VLAI
Summary
OpenClaw's dispatch-wrapper depth-cap mismatch can bypass shell-wrapper approval gating in system.run allowlist mode
Details

Summary

A wrapper-depth parsing mismatch in system.run allowed nested transparent dispatch wrappers (for example repeated /usr/bin/env) to suppress shell-wrapper detection while still matching allowlist resolution. In security=allowlist + ask=on-miss, this could bypass the expected approval prompt for shell execution.

Severity / Trust Model

OpenClaw’s documented model treats authenticated gateway callers as trusted operators and exec approvals as operator guardrails. This issue is still a real approval-boundary bypass and is triaged as Medium in that model.

Technical Details

  • Dispatch-wrapper unwrapping stopped at MAX_DISPATCH_WRAPPER_DEPTH.
  • Shell-wrapper extraction could return non-wrapper once depth was exhausted.
  • Allowlist resolution could still succeed on partially unwrapped argv beginning with /usr/bin/env.
  • Result: nested wrapper chains could execute /bin/sh -c ... without fresh approval in allowlist + ask=on-miss.

Affected Packages / Versions

  • Package: openclaw (npm)
  • Latest published version at triage time: 2026.2.23
  • Vulnerable versions: <= 2026.2.23
  • Patched versions (planned next release): >= 2026.2.24

Fix Commit(s)

  • 57c9a18180c8b14885bbd95474cbb17ff2d03f0b

Verification

  • Added regression coverage for depth-overflow wrapper chains at resolution and system.run invocation layers.
  • Reproduced previous PoC behavior before fix, then confirmed denial after fix with SYSTEM_RUN_DENIED: approval required.

Release Process Note

patched_versions is pre-set to the planned next release (2026.2.24) so once npm publish is complete, advisory publication can proceed without additional version edits.

OpenClaw thanks @tdjackey for reporting.

Publication Update (2026-02-25)

openclaw@2026.2.24 is published on npm and contains the fix commit(s) listed above. This advisory now marks >= 2026.2.24 as patched.


{
  "affected": [
    {
      "ecosystem_specific": {
        "fix": "bump",
        "range_state": "fixed",
        "upstream_fixed_in": "2026.2.24"
      },
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "Homebrew",
        "name": "openclaw-cli",
        "purl": "pkg:brew/openclaw-cli"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "2026.1.29"
            },
            {
              "fixed": "2026.2.24"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "confidence": "high",
    "source": "matched",
    "strategy": "registry",
    "upstream_evidence": [
      {
        "ecosystem": "npm",
        "key": "pkg:npm/openclaw@2026.9.4",
        "name": "openclaw",
        "strategy": "registry",
        "subject_version": "2026.9.4"
      }
    ]
  },
  "details": "### Summary\nA wrapper-depth parsing mismatch in `system.run` allowed nested transparent dispatch wrappers (for example repeated `/usr/bin/env`) to suppress shell-wrapper detection while still matching allowlist resolution. In `security=allowlist` + `ask=on-miss`, this could bypass the expected approval prompt for shell execution.\n\n### Severity / Trust Model\nOpenClaw\u2019s documented model treats authenticated gateway callers as trusted operators and exec approvals as operator guardrails. This issue is still a real approval-boundary bypass and is triaged as **Medium** in that model.\n\n### Technical Details\n- Dispatch-wrapper unwrapping stopped at `MAX_DISPATCH_WRAPPER_DEPTH`.\n- Shell-wrapper extraction could return non-wrapper once depth was exhausted.\n- Allowlist resolution could still succeed on partially unwrapped argv beginning with `/usr/bin/env`.\n- Result: nested wrapper chains could execute `/bin/sh -c ...` without fresh approval in `allowlist` + `ask=on-miss`.\n\n### Affected Packages / Versions\n- Package: `openclaw` (npm)\n- Latest published version at triage time: `2026.2.23`\n- Vulnerable versions: `\u003c= 2026.2.23`\n- Patched versions (planned next release): `\u003e= 2026.2.24`\n\n### Fix Commit(s)\n- `57c9a18180c8b14885bbd95474cbb17ff2d03f0b`\n\n### Verification\n- Added regression coverage for depth-overflow wrapper chains at resolution and `system.run` invocation layers.\n- Reproduced previous PoC behavior before fix, then confirmed denial after fix with `SYSTEM_RUN_DENIED: approval required`.\n\n### Release Process Note\n`patched_versions` is pre-set to the planned next release (`2026.2.24`) so once npm publish is complete, advisory publication can proceed without additional version edits.\n\nOpenClaw thanks @tdjackey for reporting.\n\n\n### Publication Update (2026-02-25)\n`openclaw@2026.2.24` is published on npm and contains the fix commit(s) listed above. This advisory now marks `\u003e= 2026.2.24` as patched.",
  "id": "BREW-openclaw-cli-CVE-2026-32023",
  "modified": "2026-09-17T17:24:13Z",
  "published": "2026-08-13T17:21:32Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-ccg8-46r6-9qgj"
    },
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-32023"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/57c9a18180c8b14885bbd95474cbb17ff2d03f0b"
    },
    {
      "type": "PACKAGE",
      "url": "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-approval-gating-bypass-via-dispatch-wrapper-depth-cap-mismatch-in-system-run"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.7.3",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    },
    {
      "score": "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N",
      "type": "CVSS_V4"
    }
  ],
  "summary": "OpenClaw\u0027s dispatch-wrapper depth-cap mismatch can bypass shell-wrapper approval gating in system.run allowlist mode",
  "upstream": [
    "GHSA-ccg8-46r6-9qgj",
    "CVE-2026-32023"
  ]
}



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