CVE-2026-100578 — Openclaw
HIGHCVE-2026-100578 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.6) Improper Privilege Management vulnerability. No vendor fix is recorded yet; mitigation options are listed below.
OpenClaw (npm package `openclaw`) before 2026.7.1 fails to restrict owner-only infrastructure tools exposed through the chat.send endpoint. In Gateway deployments using authentication…
Description
OpenClaw (npm package openclaw) before 2026.7.1 fails to restrict owner-only infrastructure tools exposed through the chat.send endpoint. In Gateway deployments using authentication modes that honor caller identity and narrower operator scopes, a write-scoped non-owner caller can start a chat turn whose tool inventory includes the gateway and cron tools, causing the agent to invoke owner-only configuration or scheduling operations, including persistent state changes. Practical impact depends on the tools selected by the model and the caller's ability to steer the turn. Shared-secret token and password callers are treated as fully trusted operators under OpenClaw's security model and are outside the scope of this issue. The issue is fixed in 2026.7.1; as a workaround, restrict chat.send to administrators in identity-bearing deployments and remove gateway and cron from affected agent tool policies.
Detection & mitigation playbook
VulnerabilityDetect
Identify every host running the affected component and compare the installed build against the fixed version below — for source-built or distro-packaged software the version string, not a lockfile, is the source of truth (`dpkg -l`, `rpm -q`, or the binary's own `--version`). Because exploitation targets the running service rather than your application code, O3 also flags the exploit behaviour from runtime telemetry and egress traffic.
Remediation status
No fixed release is recorded for CVE-2026-100578 yet. Track the upstream advisory, and apply the exposure-reduction steps below in the meantime.
Mitigate without a patch
Reduce reachability while you patch: restrict network access to the service to trusted sources, disable or gate the affected component where your deployment allows it, and add a WAF/IPS signature if one exists for CVE-2026-100578. O3's runtime protection blocks the improper privilege management flaw at execution, which holds the line on hosts you cannot patch immediately.
How O3 protects you
O3 detects and blocks CVE-2026-100578 exploitation at runtime with eBPF exploit-chain detection, plus L7 egress monitoring that catches a post-exploitation callback and cuts the attacker's outbound channel.
Tailored to CVE-2026-100578. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2026-100578 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2026-100578 across dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.