GHSA-gv46-4xfq-jv58 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.9) remote code execution vulnerability in openclaw. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for openclaw — see the affected versions and patch details below.
OpenClaw Vulnerable to Remote Code Execution via Node Invoke Approval Bypass in Gateway
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- 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-gv46-4xfq-jv58.
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-gv46-4xfq-jv58 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 379,145 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
A remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability in the gateway-to-node invocation path allowed an authenticated gateway client to bypass node-host exec approvals by injecting internal control fields into node.invoke parameters.
Affected Component
- Gateway method:
node.invokefor node commandsystem.run - Node host runner: exec approval gating for
system.run
Impact
If an attacker can authenticate to a gateway (for example via a leaked/shared gateway token or a paired device token with operator.write), they could execute arbitrary commands on connected node hosts that support system.run. This can lead to full compromise of developer workstations, CI runners, and servers running the node host.
Technical Details
The gateway forwarded user-controlled params to node hosts without sanitizing internal approval fields. The node host treated params.approved === true and/or params.approvalDecision as sufficient to skip the approval workflow.
Fix
Patched in OpenClaw 2026.2.14.
- Commits:
318379cdb8d045da0009b0051bd0e712e5c65e2da7af646fdab124a7536998db6bd6ad567d2b06b0c1594627421f95b6bc4ad7c606657dc75b5ad0ce0af76f5f0e93540efbdf054895216c398692afcd
- Gateway strips untrusted approval control fields from
system.runuser input. - Gateway only re-attaches approval flags when
params.runIdreferences a validexec.approval.requestrecord and the request context matches. Approval IDs are bound to the requesting device identity (stable across reconnects), preventing replay by other clients. - Gateway forwards only an allowlisted set of
system.runparameters, preventing future control-field smuggling.
Mitigations
- Upgrade to
2026.2.14or later. - Restrict access to the gateway (do not expose it to untrusted networks/users).
- Rotate gateway credentials if you suspect token/password exposure.
- Disable remote command execution on nodes by blocking
system.runat the gateway (gateway.nodes.denyCommands) and/or by configuring node exec security todeny.
Credits
OpenClaw thanks @222n5 for reporting this issue.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | openclaw | all versions | 2026.2.14npm install openclaw@2026.2.14 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
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 2026.2.14 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-gv46-4xfq-jv58 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-gv46-4xfq-jv58 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-gv46-4xfq-jv58. 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-gv46-4xfq-jv58 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-gv46-4xfq-jv58 across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.