GHSA-wpc6-37g7-8q4w is a high-severity (CVSS 7.3) CWE-184 vulnerability in openclaw. A fix is available for openclaw — see the affected versions and patch details below.
OpenClaw: Shell init-file options could satisfy exec allowlist script matching
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-wpc6-37g7-8q4w.
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-wpc6-37g7-8q4w 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 377,166 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
Before OpenClaw 2026.3.31, exec allowlist matching could treat shell init-file wrapper invocations as if the approved script itself were being executed. Shell options such as --rcfile, --init-file, and --startup-file could therefore inherit allowlist trust from a matched script path even though the shell loaded attacker-chosen initialization first.
Impact
This issue only applied when exec allowlist or allow-always behavior was enabled and the attacker could steer a shell-wrapper command shape that used init-file options. The result was a narrower allowlist bypass, not generic arbitrary command execution from an untrusted boundary.
Affected Packages / Versions
- Package:
openclaw(npm) - Affected versions:
< 2026.3.31 - Patched versions:
>= 2026.3.31 - Latest published npm version:
2026.4.1
Fix Commit(s)
0c8375424620e12777ef24c162eedc7e9fcfd7e3— reject shell init-file script matches
Release Process Note
The fix shipped in OpenClaw 2026.3.31 on March 31, 2026. The current published npm release 2026.4.1 from April 1, 2026 also contains the fix.
Thanks @cyjhhh for reporting.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | openclaw | all versions | 2026.3.31npm install openclaw@2026.3.31 |
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 2026.3.31 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-wpc6-37g7-8q4w 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-wpc6-37g7-8q4w can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-wpc6-37g7-8q4w. 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-wpc6-37g7-8q4w in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-wpc6-37g7-8q4w across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.