CVE-2026-32988 — openclaw
CVE-2026-32988 is a CWE-367 vulnerability in openclaw. A fix is available for openclaw — see the affected versions and patch details below.
OpenClaw < 2026.3.11 - Sandbox Boundary Bypass via Unvalidated Temporary File Creation
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
- 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-2026-32988.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
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
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.
openclawnpmDescription
Summary
In affected versions of openclaw, sandbox fs-bridge writes validated the destination before commit, but temporary file creation and population were not pinned to a verified parent directory. A raced parent-path alias change could cause the staged temp file to be created outside the intended writable mount before the final guarded replace step.
Impact
This is a sandbox boundary bypass affecting integrity and availability within the writable mount scope. Attacker-controlled bytes could be written outside the intended validated path before the final guarded step ran.
Affected Packages and Versions
- Package:
openclaw(npm) - Affected versions:
<= 2026.3.8 - Fixed in:
2026.3.11
Technical Details
The older staging flow created and wrote the temporary file using target-directory shell path operations before the final replace step revalidated the destination. That meant the last guard protected only the final rename, not the earlier temp-file materialization path.
Fix
OpenClaw now resolves a pinned mount root plus relative parent path, creates the temporary file inside the verified parent directory, and performs the final atomic replace from that pinned directory context. The fix shipped in [email protected].
Workarounds
Upgrade to 2026.3.11 or later.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | openclaw | all versions | 2026.3.11npm install openclaw@2026.3.11 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
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 2026.3.11 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-32988 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-2026-32988 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2026-32988. 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-2026-32988 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2026-32988 across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.