GHSA-7wv4-cc7p-jhxc is a high-severity (CVSS 8.8) CWE-15 vulnerability in openclaw. A fix is available for openclaw — see the affected versions and patch details below.
OpenClaw: Workspace .env could inject OpenClaw runtime-control variables
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
- 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-7wv4-cc7p-jhxc.
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-7wv4-cc7p-jhxc 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 377,636 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
Workspace .env could inject OpenClaw runtime-control variables.
Affected Packages / Versions
- Package:
openclaw - Ecosystem: npm
- Affected versions:
< 2026.4.9 - Patched versions:
>= 2026.4.9
Impact
A malicious workspace .env file could set OpenClaw runtime-control variables affecting update sources, gateway URLs, ClawHub resolution, browser executable paths, and related behavior.
Technical Details
The fix blocks OpenClaw runtime-control keys and key families from workspace .env loading.
Fix
The issue was fixed in #62660. The first stable tag containing the fix is v2026.4.9, and [email protected] includes the fix.
Fix Commit(s)
dbfcef319618158fa40b31cdac386ea34c392c0c- PR: #62660
Release Process Note
Users should upgrade to openclaw 2026.4.9 or newer. The latest npm release, 2026.4.14, already includes the fix.
Credits
Thanks to @zsxsoft, with sponsorship from @KeenSecurityLab for reporting this issue.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | openclaw | all versions | 2026.4.9npm install openclaw@2026.4.9 |
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 2026.4.9 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-7wv4-cc7p-jhxc 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-7wv4-cc7p-jhxc can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-7wv4-cc7p-jhxc. 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-7wv4-cc7p-jhxc in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-7wv4-cc7p-jhxc across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.