How severe is GHSA-5ghc-98wh-gwwf?

GHSA-5ghc-98wh-gwwf has a CVSS score of 3.3/10, rated LOW. Review your exposure and patch according to your risk tolerance.

Which packages are affected by GHSA-5ghc-98wh-gwwf?

GHSA-5ghc-98wh-gwwf affects the following packages: openclaw (npm). Ecosystems affected: npm.

How do I fix GHSA-5ghc-98wh-gwwf?

Update openclaw to 2026.2.22 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-5ghc-98wh-gwwf is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect GHSA-5ghc-98wh-gwwf in my npm dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for openclaw. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.

How do I mitigate GHSA-5ghc-98wh-gwwf 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 GHSA-5ghc-98wh-gwwf?

O3 pinpoints whether GHSA-5ghc-98wh-gwwf is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.

Is GHSA-5ghc-98wh-gwwf actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for GHSA-5ghc-98wh-gwwf 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 GHSA-5ghc-98wh-gwwf?

GHSA-5ghc-98wh-gwwf has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 0.1%, placing it in the 3th 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 GHSA-5ghc-98wh-gwwf?

GHSA-5ghc-98wh-gwwf is classified as CWE-59 (CWE-59), Path Traversal (CWE-22). These weakness types 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 GHSA-5ghc-98wh-gwwf published, and has it been updated?

GHSA-5ghc-98wh-gwwf was published on March 2, 2026 and was last updated on March 19, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

📦 npm

GHSA-5ghc-98wh-gwwf

LOW

OpenClaw's Control UI Static File Handler Follows Symlinks and Allows Out-of-Root File Read

Also known asCVE-2026-32020

Published

Mar 2, 2026

Updated

Mar 19, 2026

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

None indexed

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

0.1%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk3th percentile+0.11%

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.

Blast Radius

1 pkg affected

Weekly download volume for affected packages — a proxy for how broadly this vulnerability is deployed.

openclawnpm

3.7Mdownloads / week

Description

Summary

The Control UI static file handler previously validated asset paths lexically and then served files with APIs that follow symbolic links. A symlink placed under the Control UI root could cause out-of-root file reads.

Affected Packages / Versions

Package: openclaw (npm)
Latest published version observed: 2026.2.21-2
Affected versions: <=2026.2.21-2
Planned fixed release version: 2026.2.22

Technical Details

The vulnerable flow was in src/gateway/control-ui.ts, where path.join(...) + string-prefix checks were followed by file reads that resolved symlinks. This allowed directory-confinement bypasses when symlinks existed inside the Control UI root.

The fix now enforces realpath containment and verifies file identity before serving Control UI assets and SPA fallback index.html.

Impact

Vulnerability type: path traversal / external file exposure via symlink following.
Primary impact: confidentiality (out-of-root file read).
Severity guidance: low in supported trusted-operator deployments; can be higher in unsupported shared-writable setups.

Fix Commit(s)

7c500ff6236fa087ec1ec88696ca9f6881e90dc5

Release Process Note

patched_versions is pre-set to the planned next release (2026.2.22). After npm release is available, publish the advisory.

OpenClaw thanks @tdjackey for reporting.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
📦npm	`openclaw`	all versions	2026.2.22

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for openclaw. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update openclaw to 2026.2.22 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-5ghc-98wh-gwwf 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 pinpoints whether GHSA-5ghc-98wh-gwwf is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.

Tailored to GHSA-5ghc-98wh-gwwf. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Frequently Asked Questions

### Summary The Control UI static file handler previously validated asset paths lexically and then served files with APIs that follow symbolic links. A symlink placed under the Control UI root could cause out-of-root file reads. ### Affected Packages / Versions - Package: `openclaw` (npm) - Latest published version observed: `2026.2.21-2` - Affected versions: `<=2026.2.21-2` - Planned fixed release version: `2026.2.22` ### Technical Details The vulnerable flow was in `src/gateway/control-ui.ts`, where `path.join(...)` + string-prefix checks were followed by file reads that resolved symlinks.

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is GHSA-5ghc-98wh-gwwf in your dependencies?

O3 detects GHSA-5ghc-98wh-gwwf across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

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