GHSA-25gx-x37c-7pph is a high-severity (CVSS 7.7) Missing Authentication vulnerability in openclaw. A fix is available for openclaw — see the affected versions and patch details below.
OpenClaw's andbox browser noVNC observer lacked VNC authentication
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 GHSA-25gx-x37c-7pph.
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.
How urgent is this, really
GHSA-25gx-x37c-7pph plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 378,156 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
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
The sandbox browser entrypoint launched x11vnc without authentication (-nopw) for noVNC observer sessions.
OpenClaw-managed runtime flow publishes the noVNC port to host loopback only (127.0.0.1), so default exposure is local to the host unless operators explicitly expose the port more broadly (or run the image standalone with broad port publishing).
Affected Packages / Versions
- Package:
docker/openclaw - Affected:
<= 2026.2.19-2 - Patched:
>= 2026.2.21
Technical details
scripts/sandbox-browser-entrypoint.shusedx11vnc ... -nopwfor noVNC observer flow.websockifyexposed noVNC for the container listener.- OpenClaw runtime (
src/agents/sandbox/browser.ts) already mapped host publish to loopback, but observer auth was missing.
Fix
- Require VNC password auth in the sandbox browser entrypoint (
x11vnc -rfbauth), replacing-nopw. - Generate per-container noVNC password in runtime and inject
OPENCLAW_BROWSER_NOVNC_PASSWORD. - Emit short-lived noVNC observer token URLs instead of sharing raw noVNC passwords in shared URLs.
- Keep loopback-only host port publish and bump sandbox browser security hash epoch.
- Add security audit findings for sandbox browser containers that publish ports on non-loopback interfaces.
Operational note: rebuild the sandbox browser image and recreate browser containers so existing containers pick up the fix.
Fix Commit(s)
621d8e1312482f122f18c43c72c67211b141da018c1518f0f3e0533593cd2dec3a46c9b746753661
Release Process Note
Patched version is pre-set to the planned next release (2026.2.21). After npm release, this advisory can be published without further field edits.
OpenClaw thanks @TerminalsandCoffee for reporting.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | openclaw | all versions | 2026.2.21npm install openclaw@2026.2.21 |
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 2026.2.21 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-25gx-x37c-7pph 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 GHSA-25gx-x37c-7pph can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-25gx-x37c-7pph. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-25gx-x37c-7pph in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-25gx-x37c-7pph across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.