GHSA-j425-whc4-4jgc is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.3) vulnerability in openclaw. A fix is available for openclaw — see the affected versions and patch details below.
OpenClaw's `system.run` env override filtering allowed dangerous helper-command pivots
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
system.run env override sanitization allowed dangerous override-only helper-command pivots to reach subprocesses. A caller who could invoke system.run with env overrides could bypass allowlist/approval intent by steering an allowlisted tool through helper-command or config-loading environment variables such as GIT_SSH_COMMAND, editor/pager hooks, and GIT_CONFIG_* / NPM_CONFIG_*.
Affected Packages / Versions
- Package:
openclaw(npm) - Latest published vulnerable version:
2026.3.2 - Affected range:
<= 2026.3.2 - Patched in:
2026.3.7
Details
Before the fix, src/infra/host-env-security.ts blocked only a narrow set of override-only environment variables. Dangerous request-scoped overrides such as GIT_SSH_COMMAND and prefix families such as GIT_CONFIG_* and NPM_CONFIG_* could still survive sanitizeSystemRunEnvOverrides(...) / sanitizeHostExecEnv(...) and reach the spawned process.
That mattered for system.run allowlist and approval flows because approval evaluation was tied to the reviewed binary/argv, while the launched process could still inherit attacker-controlled env overrides that changed helper-command execution or config resolution. For allowlisted tools such as git, this allowed behavior outside the reviewed command semantics.
The fix extends the shared TypeScript and macOS policy to block dangerous override-only exact keys and prefixes while preserving trusted inherited base-environment behavior.
Impact
This is a real protection-bypass issue, but exploitation requires an already tool-enabled caller who can invoke system.run and supply env overrides. In affected deployments, that caller could bypass allowlist/approval intent and trigger helper-command execution or config-loading behavior that is not represented by the approved command line. Maintainer severity is set to medium because the bug still requires that existing execution capability; the vulnerability is the mismatch between reviewed command semantics and the actual spawned-process behavior.
Fix Commit(s)
e27bbe4982439da6864160fd1b66445058f74801
Release Process Note
npm 2026.3.7 was published on March 8, 2026. This advisory is fixed in the released package.
Thanks @tdjackey and @SnailSploit for reporting.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | openclaw | all versions | 2026.3.7npm install openclaw@2026.3.7 |
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 2026.3.7 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-j425-whc4-4jgc 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-j425-whc4-4jgc can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-j425-whc4-4jgc. 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-j425-whc4-4jgc in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-j425-whc4-4jgc across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.