GHSA-qcc4-p59m-p54m is a high-severity (CVSS 7) vulnerability in openclaw. A fix is available for openclaw — see the affected versions and patch details below.
OpenClaw: Sandbox dangling-symlink alias handling could bypass workspace-only write boundary
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 sandbox boundary-validation gap in symlink alias handling allowed certain workspace-only write paths to be treated as in-boundary even when they could resolve outside the workspace/sandbox root.
Affected Packages / Versions
- Package: npm
openclaw - Affected versions:
<= 2026.2.25 - Latest published npm version included in affected range:
2026.2.25(checked on February 26, 2026) - Patched version (pre-set for release):
2026.2.26
Technical Details
In affected versions, dangling symlink hops could be accepted during boundary checks under missing-target conditions. For workspace-only write flows (including apply_patch), this could allow writes to resolve outside the configured workspace/sandbox boundary.
The fix resolves symlink targets through existing ancestors and fails closed when canonical resolution escapes the configured boundary.
Impact
- Boundary-confined write operations could be redirected outside the configured workspace/sandbox root.
- Primary impact is integrity of host-side files reachable from that path resolution.
Fix Commit(s)
4fd29a35bb85a1898ebff518364c467058b50e14
Release Process Note
patched_versions is pre-set to the planned next release (2026.2.26) so once npm 2026.2.26 is published, the advisory can be published without further field edits.
Thanks @tdjackey for reporting.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | openclaw | all versions | 2026.2.26npm install openclaw@2026.2.26 |
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 2026.2.26 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-qcc4-p59m-p54m 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-qcc4-p59m-p54m can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-qcc4-p59m-p54m. 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-qcc4-p59m-p54m in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-qcc4-p59m-p54m across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.