GHSA-mj4p-rc52-m843
HIGHOpenClaw: Sandbox staged writes could escape the verified parent directory before commit
Blast Radius
Weekly download volume for affected packages — a proxy for how broadly this vulnerability is deployed.
openclawnpmDescription
Summary
In affected versions of openclaw, sandbox fs-bridge writes validated the destination before commit, but temporary file creation and population were not pinned to a verified parent directory. A raced parent-path alias change could cause the staged temp file to be created outside the intended writable mount before the final guarded replace step.
Impact
This is a sandbox boundary bypass affecting integrity and availability within the writable mount scope. Attacker-controlled bytes could be written outside the intended validated path before the final guarded step ran.
Affected Packages and Versions
- Package:
openclaw(npm) - Affected versions:
<= 2026.3.8 - Fixed in:
2026.3.11
Technical Details
The older staging flow created and wrote the temporary file using target-directory shell path operations before the final replace step revalidated the destination. That meant the last guard protected only the final rename, not the earlier temp-file materialization path.
Fix
OpenClaw now resolves a pinned mount root plus relative parent path, creates the temporary file inside the verified parent directory, and performs the final atomic replace from that pinned directory context. The fix shipped in [email protected].
Workarounds
Upgrade to 2026.3.11 or later.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | openclaw | all versions | 2026.3.11 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for openclaw. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update openclaw to 2026.3.11 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-mj4p-rc52-m843 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 pinpoints whether GHSA-mj4p-rc52-m843 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to GHSA-mj4p-rc52-m843. 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-mj4p-rc52-m843 in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-mj4p-rc52-m843 across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.