GHSA-jmmg-jqc7-5qf4 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) CWE-307 vulnerability in openclaw. A fix is available for openclaw — see the affected versions and patch details below.
OpenClaw's browser-origin WebSocket auth hardening gap could enable loopback password brute-force chains
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-jmmg-jqc7-5qf4.
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-jmmg-jqc7-5qf4 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 378,567 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
This issue is a browser-origin WebSocket auth chain on local loopback deployments using password auth. It is serious, but conditional: an attacker must get the user to open a malicious page and then successfully guess the gateway password.
Context and Preconditions
OpenClaw’s web/gateway surface is designed for local use and trusted-operator workflows. In affected versions, a browser-origin client could combine three behaviors:
- Origin checks not enforced for some non-Control-UI WebSocket client IDs.
- Loopback auth attempts exempt from password-failure throttling.
- Silent local pairing path available to browser-origin non-Control-UI clients.
Successful exploitation requires all of the following:
- Gateway reachable on loopback (default).
- Password auth mode in use.
- Victim opens attacker-controlled web content.
- Password is guessable within feasible brute-force/dictionary attempts.
Practical Impact
If the password is guessed, an attacker can establish an authenticated operator WebSocket session and invoke control-plane methods available to that role. This is not an unauthenticated internet-exposed RCE class issue by itself; it is a local browser-origin auth-hardening gap with meaningful impact under the conditions above.
Affected Packages / Versions
- Package:
openclaw(npm) - Affected versions:
<=2026.2.24(latest published npm version as of February 26, 2026) - Patched versions :
>=2026.2.25
Fix Commit(s)
c736f11a16d6bc27ea62a0fe40fffae4cb071fdb
Fix Details
- Enforce browser-origin checks for direct browser WebSocket clients beyond Control UI/Webchat (trusted-proxy forwarded flows remain supported).
- Apply browser-origin auth failure throttling with loopback exemption disabled.
- Block silent auto-pairing for non-Control-UI browser-origin clients.
Release Process Note
patched_versions is pre-set to the planned next npm release (2026.2.25) so once that release is published, the advisory is published.
OpenClaw thanks @luz-oasis for reporting.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | openclaw | all versions | 2026.2.25npm install openclaw@2026.2.25 |
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 2026.2.25 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-jmmg-jqc7-5qf4 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-jmmg-jqc7-5qf4 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-jmmg-jqc7-5qf4. 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-jmmg-jqc7-5qf4 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-jmmg-jqc7-5qf4 across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.