CVE-2026-44114 — openclaw
Fix: openclaw/openclaw@018494fCVE-2026-44114 is a CWE-184 vulnerability in openclaw. A fix is available for openclaw — see the affected versions and patch details below.
OpenClaw < 2026.4.20 - Environment Variable Namespace Collision via Workspace dotenv
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-2026-44114.
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
Affected Packages / Versions
- Package:
openclaw(npm) - Affected versions:
< 2026.4.20 - Patched version:
2026.4.20
Impact
Workspace .env loading did not reserve the OPENCLAW_ runtime-control namespace broadly enough. A malicious workspace could set variables such as OPENCLAW_GIT_DIR before source-update or installer flows, potentially steering trusted OpenClaw runtime behavior.
This requires running OpenClaw from an attacker-controlled workspace. Severity is medium.
Fix
OpenClaw now reserves the workspace OPENCLAW_ environment namespace and rejects workspace dotenv entries for OpenClaw runtime-control variables.
Fix commit:
018494fa3ebb9145112e68b56fe1cb2e9f9a9ed6
Release
Fixed in OpenClaw 2026.4.20.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | openclaw | all versions | 2026.4.20npm install openclaw@2026.4.20 |
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 2026.4.20 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-44114 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-2026-44114 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2026-44114. 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-2026-44114 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2026-44114 across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.