How severe is GHSA-9p38-94jf-hgjj?

No CVSS score has been assigned to GHSA-9p38-94jf-hgjj yet. Review the advisory details and affected package list to assess your exposure.

Which packages are affected by GHSA-9p38-94jf-hgjj?

GHSA-9p38-94jf-hgjj affects the following packages: openclaw (npm). Ecosystems affected: npm.

How do I fix GHSA-9p38-94jf-hgjj?

Update openclaw to 2026.2.22 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-9p38-94jf-hgjj is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect GHSA-9p38-94jf-hgjj in my npm dependencies?

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.

How do I mitigate GHSA-9p38-94jf-hgjj 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-9p38-94jf-hgjj?

O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like GHSA-9p38-94jf-hgjj can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.

Is GHSA-9p38-94jf-hgjj actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for GHSA-9p38-94jf-hgjj 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.

What is the EPSS score for GHSA-9p38-94jf-hgjj?

GHSA-9p38-94jf-hgjj has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 0.6%, placing it in the 48th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

When was GHSA-9p38-94jf-hgjj published, and has it been updated?

GHSA-9p38-94jf-hgjj was published on March 3, 2026 and was last updated on March 19, 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

Not in CISA KEV

GHSA-9p38-94jf-hgjj — openclaw

Fix: openclaw/openclaw@90a378c

GHSA-9p38-94jf-hgjj is a remote code execution vulnerability in openclaw. A fix is available for openclaw — see the affected versions and patch details below.

OpenClaw has macOS `system.run` allowlist bypass via quoted command substitution

Also known asCVE-2026-22179

Published

Mar 3, 2026

Updated

Mar 19, 2026

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Sep 24, 2026 · OSV.dev, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Exploitation Status

Proof-of-concept exploit code exists

CISA’s SSVC triage found public proof-of-concept exploit code for this CVE, though no confirmed active exploitation.
A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.

Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for GHSA-9p38-94jf-hgjj.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

0.6%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs48th percentile — riskier than 48% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

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.

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected

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.

133other npm packages depend on this — each one inherits the vulnerability until it's patched upstream

openclawnpm

2.5Mdownloads / week

Description

Summary

In OpenClaw's macOS node-host path, system.run allowlist parsing in security=allowlist mode failed to reject command substitution tokens when they appeared inside double-quoted shell text.

Because of that gap, payloads like echo "ok $(id)" could be treated as allowlist hits (first executable token echo) while still executing non-allowlisted subcommands through shell substitution.

Affected Packages / Versions

Package: npm openclaw
Latest published affected version: 2026.2.21-2
Affected range: <= 2026.2.21-2
Patched version (planned next release): 2026.2.22

Notes:

Default installs are not affected (security=deny by default).
The issue requires opting into security=allowlist on the macOS node-host path.

Impact

Approval/authorization bypass in allowlist mode that can lead to unintended command execution on the node host.

Preconditions

Target uses macOS node-host / companion-app execution path.
Exec approvals set to security=allowlist.
Ask mode is on-miss or off.
Allowlist contains a benign executable used in a shell wrapper flow (for example /bin/echo).

Reproduction (example)

Use a shell-wrapper command where the visible executable is allowlisted but the quoted payload contains substitution:

command argv: /bin/sh -lc 'echo "ok $(/usr/bin/id > /tmp/openclaw-poc-rce)"'
allowlist pattern includes /bin/echo

Before the fix, allowlist analysis could resolve this as allowlisted while shell substitution still executed.

Remediation

Upgrade to 2026.2.22 (or newer) when released.
Temporary mitigation: set ask mode to always or set security mode to deny.

Fix Commit(s)

90a378ca3a9ecbf1634cd247f17a35f4612c6ca6

Release Process Note

patched_versions is pre-set to planned next release 2026.2.22. After npm release is out, advisory can be published directly.

OpenClaw thanks @tdjackey for reporting.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
📦npm	`openclaw`	all versions	2026.2.22`npm install openclaw@2026.2.22`

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
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-9p38-94jf-hgjj 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-9p38-94jf-hgjj can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.

Tailored to GHSA-9p38-94jf-hgjj. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Frequently Asked Questions

### Summary In OpenClaw's macOS node-host path, `system.run` allowlist parsing in `security=allowlist` mode failed to reject command substitution tokens when they appeared inside double-quoted shell text. Because of that gap, payloads like `echo "ok $(id)"` could be treated as allowlist hits (first executable token `echo`) while still executing non-allowlisted subcommands through shell substitution. ### Affected Packages / Versions - Package: npm `openclaw` - Latest published affected version: `2026.2.21-2` - Affected range: `<= 2026.2.21-2` - Patched version (planned next release): `2026.2.

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is GHSA-9p38-94jf-hgjj in your dependencies?

O3 Security finds GHSA-9p38-94jf-hgjj across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.

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