GHSA-5xfq-5mr7-426q is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.5) Path Traversal vulnerability in openclaw. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-5xfq-5mr7-426q is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
OpenClaw's unsanitized session ID enables path traversal in transcript file operations
Real-World Exposure
How broadly this vulnerability is actually deployed: weekly install volume shows current usage, a proxy for how much of the ecosystem is exposed.
openclawnpmDescription
Description
OpenClaw versions <= 2026.2.9 construct transcript file paths using an unsanitized sessionId and also accept sessionFile paths without enforcing that they stay within the agent sessions directory.
A crafted sessionId and/or sessionFile (example: ../../etc/passwd) can cause path traversal when the gateway performs transcript file read/write operations.
Preconditions: an attacker must be able to authenticate to the gateway (gateway token/password). By default the gateway binds to loopback (local-only); configurations that expose the gateway widen the attack surface.
Affected Packages / Versions
- Package:
openclaw(npm) - Affected:
<= 2026.2.9 - Fixed:
>= 2026.2.12
Fix
Fixed by validating session IDs (rejecting path separators / traversal sequences) and enforcing sessions-directory containment for session transcript file operations.
Fix Commit(s)
4199f9889f0c307b77096a229b9e085b8d856c26
Additional Hardening
cab0abf52ac91e12ea7a0cf04fff315cf0c94d64
Mitigation
Upgrade to openclaw >= 2026.2.12.
Thanks @akhmittra for reporting.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | openclaw | all versions | 2026.2.12 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
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 2026.2.12 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-5xfq-5mr7-426q 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-5xfq-5mr7-426q 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-5xfq-5mr7-426q. 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-5xfq-5mr7-426q in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-5xfq-5mr7-426q across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.