OpenClaw has an exec allowlist bypass via command substitution/backticks inside double quotesGHSA-3hcm-ggvf-rch5
CRITICALFix: openclaw/openclaw@d1ecb46GHSA-3hcm-ggvf-rch5 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) OS Command Injection vulnerability in openclaw. A fix is available for openclaw — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
- 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-3hcm-ggvf-rch5.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
Where this sits among everything scored
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
Exec approvals allowlist bypass via command substitution/backticks inside double quotes.
Affected Packages / Versions
- Package:
openclaw(npm) - Affected:
<= 2026.2.1 - Fixed:
>= 2026.2.2
Impact
Only affects setups that explicitly enable the optional exec approvals allowlist feature. Default installs are unaffected.
Fix
Reject unescaped $() and backticks inside double quotes during allowlist analysis.
Fix Commit(s)
- d1ecb46076145deb188abcba8f0699709ea17198
Thanks @simecek for reporting.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | openclaw | all versions | 2026.2.2npm install openclaw@2026.2.2 |
Affected Products
openclawopenclawDetection & 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 2026.2.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-3hcm-ggvf-rch5 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Stop passing untrusted input into the interpreter or shell: call the affected binary with an argument array rather than a composed command string, reject anything outside a strict allowlist of expected values, and run the component under an account that cannot reach beyond the work it legitimately does.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-3hcm-ggvf-rch5 in your dependencies?
Find it across npm, including transitive dependencies.