GHSA-r8g4-86fx-92mq — openclaw
MEDIUMGHSA-r8g4-86fx-92mq is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.5) Path Traversal vulnerability in openclaw. A fix is available for openclaw — see the affected versions and patch details below.
OpenClaw Vulnerable to Local File Inclusion via MEDIA: Path Extraction
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- 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-r8g4-86fx-92mq.
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-r8g4-86fx-92mq 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 377,333 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
Summary
The isValidMedia() function in src/media/parse.ts allows arbitrary file paths including absolute paths, home directory paths, and directory traversal sequences. An agent can read any file on the system by outputting MEDIA:/path/to/file, exfiltrating sensitive data to the user/channel.
Details
Location: src/media/parse.ts:17-27
The path validation accepts dangerous patterns:
function isValidMedia(candidate: string, opts?: { allowSpaces?: boolean }) {
if (candidate.startsWith("/")) return true; // ALLOWS /etc/passwd
if (candidate.startsWith("./")) return true;
if (candidate.startsWith("../")) return true; // ALLOWS ../../etc/passwd
if (candidate.startsWith("~")) return true; // ALLOWS ~/secrets
return false;
}
No validation ensures the path is within a safe directory or is actually a media file.
PoC
Agent outputs any of:
MEDIA:/etc/passwd
MEDIA:~/.ssh/id_rsa
MEDIA:~/.aws/credentials
MEDIA:../../../etc/passwd
The file contents are rendered/sent to the requesting user or channel.
Impact
- Read ANY file accessible to the agent user
- Exfiltrate SSH keys (
~/.ssh/id_rsa) - Steal cloud credentials (
~/.aws/credentials) - Access API keys (
.env,config.json) - Read system files (
/etc/passwd,/etc/shadow)
Note: PR #4930 contains a fix but is NOT MERGED - production is vulnerable.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | openclaw | all versions | 2026.1.30npm install openclaw@2026.1.30 |
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 2026.1.30 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-r8g4-86fx-92mq 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-r8g4-86fx-92mq can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-r8g4-86fx-92mq. 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-r8g4-86fx-92mq in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-r8g4-86fx-92mq across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.