GHSA-5ghc-98wh-gwwf is a low-severity (CVSS 3.3) CWE-59 vulnerability in openclaw. A fix is available for openclaw — see the affected versions and patch details below.
OpenClaw's Control UI Static File Handler Follows Symlinks and Allows Out-of-Root File Read
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- 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-5ghc-98wh-gwwf.
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-5ghc-98wh-gwwf 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 377,166 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
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
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | openclaw | all versions | 2026.2.22npm install openclaw@2026.2.22 |
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 2026.2.22 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 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like GHSA-5ghc-98wh-gwwf can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
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
Is GHSA-5ghc-98wh-gwwf in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-5ghc-98wh-gwwf across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.