How severe is CVE-2026-31996?

No CVSS score has been assigned to CVE-2026-31996 yet. Review the advisory details and affected package list to assess your exposure.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2026-31996?

CVE-2026-31996 affects the following packages: openclaw (npm). Ecosystems affected: npm.

How do I fix CVE-2026-31996?

Update openclaw to 2026.2.19 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-31996 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2026-31996 in my npm dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for openclaw, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

How do I mitigate CVE-2026-31996 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.

How does O3 Security protect against CVE-2026-31996?

O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2026-31996 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.

Is CVE-2026-31996 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2026-31996 yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2026-31996?

CVE-2026-31996 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 0.1%, placing it in the 4th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2026-31996?

CVE-2026-31996 is classified as OS Command Injection (CWE-78). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation. This is a high-impact weakness class that often enables remote code execution or data exposure.

When was CVE-2026-31996 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2026-31996 was published on March 19, 2026 and was last updated on August 12, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

CVE-2026-31996: openclaw

Exploitation Status

No confirmed exploitation observed yet

CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.

Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2026-31996.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

0.1%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs4th percentile — riskier than 4% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected

How broadly this vulnerability is actually deployed: weekly install volume shows current usage, and reverse-dependency count shows how many other packages break if it stays unpatched.

133other npm packages depend on this — each one inherits the vulnerability until it's patched upstream

openclawnpm

4.1Mdownloads / week

Description

OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.2.19 tools.exec.safeBins contains an input validation bypass vulnerability that allows attackers to execute unintended filesystem operations through sort output flags or recursive grep flags. Attackers with command execution access can leverage sort -o flag for arbitrary file writes or grep -R flag for recursive file reads, circumventing intended stdin-only restrictions.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
📦npm	`openclaw`	all versions	2026.2.19`npm install openclaw@2026.2.19`

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for openclaw, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update openclaw to 2026.2.19 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-31996 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2026-31996 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.

Tailored to CVE-2026-31996. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Frequently Asked Questions

OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.2.19 tools.exec.safeBins contains an input validation bypass vulnerability that allows attackers to execute unintended filesystem operations through sort output flags or recursive grep flags. Attackers with command execution access can leverage sort -o flag for arbitrary file writes or grep -R flag for recursive file reads, circumventing intended stdin-only restrictions.

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2026-31996 in your dependencies?

O3 Security finds CVE-2026-31996 across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works

CVE-2026-31996 — openclaw