GHSA-68f8-9mhj-h2mp is a medium-severity (CVSS 4.3) CWE-863 vulnerability in openclaw. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-68f8-9mhj-h2mp is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
OpenClaw has a Gateway HTTP /v1/models Route Bypasses Operator Read Scope
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
Fixed in OpenClaw 2026.3.24, the current shipping release.
Summary
The OpenAI-compatible HTTP endpoint /v1/models accepts bearer auth but does not enforce operator method scopes.
In contrast, the WebSocket RPC path enforces operator.read for models.list.
A caller connected with operator.approvals (no read scope) is rejected for models.list (missing scope: operator.read) but can still enumerate model metadata through HTTP /v1/models.
Confirmed on current main at commit 06de515b6c42816b62ec752e1c221cab67b38501.
Details
The WS control-plane path enforces role/scope checks centrally before dispatching methods. For non-admin operators, this includes required method scopes such as operator.read for models.list.
The HTTP compatibility path for /v1/models performs bearer authorization and then returns model metadata; it does not apply an equivalent scope check.
As reproduced, a caller with only operator.approvals can:
- connect successfully,
- fail
models.listover WS withmissing scope: operator.read, - fetch
/v1/modelsover HTTP with status 200 and model data.
This is a cross-surface authorization inconsistency where the stricter WS policy can be bypassed via HTTP.
Impact
- Callers lacking
operator.readcan still enumerate gateway model metadata through HTTP compatibility routes. - Breaks scope model consistency between WS RPC and HTTP surfaces.
- Weakens least-privilege expectations for operators granted non-read scopes.
Patch Suggestion
1) Enforce read scope on /v1/models routes
Apply a scope gate equivalent to models.list before serving /v1/models or /v1/models/:id.
2) Reuse centralized scope-authorization helper for HTTP compatibility endpoints
Use the same operator scope logic used by WS dispatch (authorizeOperatorScopesForMethod(...)) to prevent policy drift.
3) Add regression tests
Keep this PoC and add explicit negative/positive controls:
operator.approvalswithout read is rejected on HTTP/v1/models.operator.readis accepted on both WSmodels.listand HTTP/v1/models.
Credit
Reported by @zpbrent.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | openclaw | all versions | 2026.3.24 |
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 2026.3.24 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-68f8-9mhj-h2mp 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-68f8-9mhj-h2mp 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-68f8-9mhj-h2mp. 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-68f8-9mhj-h2mp in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-68f8-9mhj-h2mp across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.