GHSA-v8cg-4474-49v8 is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.4) CWE-863 vulnerability in openclaw. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-v8cg-4474-49v8 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
OpenClaw: Slack system events bypass sender authorization in member and message subtype handlers
Real-World Exposure
How broadly this vulnerability is actually deployed: weekly install volume shows current usage, a proxy for how much of the ecosystem is exposed.
openclawnpmDescription
Summary
Slack member_* and message subtype system events (message_changed, message_deleted, thread_broadcast) were not consistently enforcing sender authorization before enqueueing system events.
Affected Packages / Versions
- Package:
openclaw(npm) - Latest published version:
2026.2.25 - Affected range:
<= 2026.2.25 - Planned patched version:
2026.2.26(pre-set for publish-readiness)
Technical Details
Slack system-event handlers in src/slack/monitor/events/members.ts and src/slack/monitor/events/messages.ts enqueued events after channel checks without shared sender authorization. Deployments relying on Slack DM allowlists (dmPolicy / allowFrom) or per-channel users allowlists could receive unauthorized system-event ingress from non-allowlisted senders.
The fix routes those handlers through authorizeAndResolveSlackSystemEventContext(...) and fails closed when message subtype sender identity cannot be resolved.
Fix Commit(s)
3d30ba18a2aba1e1b302e77ff33145c3b06c01c8
Release Process Note
patched_versions is pre-set to >= 2026.2.26 so once npm 2026.2.26 is published, this advisory can be published without further field edits.
Thanks @tdjackey for reporting.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | openclaw | all versions | 2026.2.26 |
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 2026.2.26 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-v8cg-4474-49v8 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-v8cg-4474-49v8 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-v8cg-4474-49v8. 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-v8cg-4474-49v8 in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-v8cg-4474-49v8 across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.