OpenClaw's Node system.run approval hardening wrapper semantic drift can execute unintended local scriptsGHSA-h3rm-6x7g-882f
MEDIUMFix: openclaw/openclaw@dded569GHSA-h3rm-6x7g-882f is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.7) CWE-88 vulnerability in openclaw. A fix is available for openclaw — see the affected versions and patch details below.
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-h3rm-6x7g-882f.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
Where this sits among everything scored
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
In [email protected], node system.run approval-path hardening rewrote wrapper command argv in a way that changed execution semantics. A command shown/approved as a shell payload (for example echo SAFE) could execute a different local script when wrapper argv were rewritten.
Affected Packages / Versions
- Package:
openclaw(npm) - Affected:
2026.3.1(latest published npm version as of March 2, 2026) - Fixed release:
2026.3.2(released)
Technical Details
Root cause was in node-host approval hardening for system.run:
src/node-host/invoke-system-run-plan.tsrewroteargv[0]to the resolved executable.- Wrapper resolution unwrapped dispatch wrappers, so input like
['env','sh','-c','echo SAFE']resolved executablesh. - The approved plan could become
['/bin/sh','sh','-c','echo SAFE']while approval text remainedecho SAFE.
That rewrite changed runtime behavior: /bin/sh interprets the extra sh positional argument as a script path, enabling execution of a local ./sh file from approved cwd instead of the approved payload text.
Impact
Approval-integrity break in host=node execution flow: operator-visible command text and executed behavior could diverge.
Exploit preconditions:
- attacker can influence wrapper argv and place a local file in approved working directory,
- operator grants approval for the displayed command.
Fix Commit(s)
dded569626b0d8e7bdab10b5e7528b6caf73a0f1
Fixed Version
- Patched in
[email protected].
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | openclaw | ≥ 2026.3.1&&< 2026.3.2 | 2026.3.2npm install openclaw@2026.3.2 |
Affected Products
openclawopenclawDetection & 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 2026.3.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-h3rm-6x7g-882f 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-h3rm-6x7g-882f in your dependencies?
Find it across npm, including transitive dependencies.