How severe is GHSA-796m-2973-wc5q?

No CVSS score has been assigned to GHSA-796m-2973-wc5q yet. Review the advisory details and affected package list to assess your exposure.

Which packages are affected by GHSA-796m-2973-wc5q?

GHSA-796m-2973-wc5q affects the following packages: openclaw (npm). Ecosystems affected: npm.

How do I fix GHSA-796m-2973-wc5q?

Update openclaw to 2026.2.23 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-796m-2973-wc5q is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect GHSA-796m-2973-wc5q 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-796m-2973-wc5q 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-796m-2973-wc5q?

O3 pinpoints whether GHSA-796m-2973-wc5q 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-796m-2973-wc5q actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for GHSA-796m-2973-wc5q 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.

When was GHSA-796m-2973-wc5q published, and has it been updated?

GHSA-796m-2973-wc5q was published on March 3, 2026 and was last updated on March 4, 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-796m-2973-wc5q

GHSA-796m-2973-wc5q is a security vulnerability in openclaw. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-796m-2973-wc5q is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.

OpenClaw has exec allowlist/safeBins policy-runtime mismatch via env -S wrapper interpretation

Published

Mar 3, 2026

Updated

Mar 4, 2026

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

None indexed

Blast Radius

1 pkg affected

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

openclawnpm

3.1Mdownloads / week

Description

Summary

tools.exec allowlist/safe-bins evaluation could diverge from runtime execution for wrapper commands using GNU env -S/--split-string semantics. This allowed policy checks to treat a command as a benign safe-bin invocation while runtime executed a different payload.

Affected Packages / Versions

Package: openclaw (npm)
Vulnerable versions: <= 2026.2.22-2 (latest currently published npm version)
Patched version (released): 2026.2.23

Impact

An attacker able to influence tool command text (for example via untrusted prompt/content injection reaching an exec-capable flow) could bypass allowlist/safe-bins intent and execute unexpected commands.

Technical Details

Root cause was policy/runtime interpretation mismatch for dispatch wrappers:

analysis resolved an effective executable from wrapper-unwrapped argv,
execution could still run original wrapper argv semantics,
safe-bin short-flag handling also allowed unknown short options in clusters.

Remediation

The fix hardens exec approvals to fail closed and enforce analysis/runtime parity:

introduce wrapper execution planning with semantic-wrapper blocking,
carry planned effectiveArgv + policyBlocked metadata through resolution,
evaluate allowlist/safe-bins against planned argv,
enforce canonical rebuilt shell command from planned argv for allowlist auto-paths,
use planned argv for node-host/mac exec-host invocation paths,
reject unknown short safe-bin flags,
add regression tests for semantic env wrappers and parity fixtures.

Fix Commit(s)

a1c4bf07c6baad3ef87a0e710fe9aef127b1f606

Release Process Note

patched_versions is pre-set to the released version (2026.2.23). Patched in 2026.2.23 and published.

OpenClaw thanks @jiseoung for reporting.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
📦npm	`openclaw`	all versions	2026.2.23

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 2026.2.23 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-796m-2973-wc5q 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-796m-2973-wc5q 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-796m-2973-wc5q. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Frequently Asked Questions

### Summary `tools.exec` allowlist/safe-bins evaluation could diverge from runtime execution for wrapper commands using GNU `env -S/--split-string` semantics. This allowed policy checks to treat a command as a benign safe-bin invocation while runtime executed a different payload. ### Affected Packages / Versions - Package: `openclaw` (npm) - Vulnerable versions: `<= 2026.2.22-2` (latest currently published npm version) - Patched version (released): `2026.2.23` ### Impact An attacker able to influence tool command text (for example via untrusted prompt/content injection reaching an exec-capab

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is GHSA-796m-2973-wc5q in your dependencies?

O3 detects GHSA-796m-2973-wc5q 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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