CVE-2026-32033: Openclaw OpenClaw Has A Workspace-only Sandbox Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-27cr-4p5m-74rj
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-180 CWE-22
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-32033 is a MODERATE (CVSS 7.5) openclaw has a workspace-only sandbox vulnerability (CWE-180: Incorrect Behavior Order: Validate Before Canonicalize) affecting Openclaw libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves openclaw has a workspace-only sandbox guard mismatch for @-prefixed absolute paths. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2026.2.24.

CVE-2026-32033 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-32033
GHSA Identifier GHSA-27cr-4p5m-74rj
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-180: Incorrect Behavior Order: Validate Before Canonicalize
Affected Product Openclaw
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.5

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2026-32033

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Openclaw dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

openclaw fixed: 2026.2.24 
npm install openclaw@2026.2.24
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

npm ls openclaw

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2026-32033, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls openclaw

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Openclaw in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 2026.2.24), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls openclaw command inspects dependencies declared in your package.json and lockfile; it does not perform automated runtime dynamic scanning.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-180: Incorrect Behavior Order: Validate Before Canonicalize, where the product validates input before it is canonicalized, which prevents the product from detecting data that becomes invalid after the canonicalization step. In Openclaw, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

A workspace-only file-system guard mismatch allowed `@`-prefixed absolute paths to bypass boundary validation in some tool path checks. ### Impact When `tools.fs.workspaceOnly=true`, certain `@`-prefixed absolute paths (for example `@/etc/passwd`) could be validated before canonicalization while runtime path handling normalized the prefix differently. In affected code paths this could permit reads outside the intended workspace boundary. Per `SECURITY.md`, OpenClaw is primarily a personal-assistant runtime with trusted-user assumptions, and this path is gated behind non-default sandbox/tooling configuration. That reduces practical exposure, but the bypass is still a security bug and is fixed. ### Affected Packages / Versions - Package: `openclaw` (npm) - Latest published at triage time: `2026.2.23` - Affected versions: `<= 2026.2.23` - Patched versions: `>= 2026.2.24` ### Fix Commit(s) - `9ef0fc2ff8fa7b145d1e746d6eb030b1bf692260` OpenClaw thanks @tdjackey for reporting.

CVE-2026-32033 Affected Openclaw Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
2026.2.24
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
openclaw
npm/openclaw
npm
< 2026.2.24
2026.2.24

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-27cr-4p5m-74rj
NVD — CVE-2026-32033 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-32033
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/9ef0fc2ff8fa7b145d1e746d6eb030b1bf692260
Openclaw Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw
www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw... WEB
https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-path-traversal-via-prefixed-absolute-paths-in-workspace-boundary-validation

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-32033?
CVE-2026-32033 is a security vulnerability in Openclaw involving OpenClaw has a workspace-only sandbox guard mismatch for @-prefixed absolute paths under CWE-180: Incorrect Behavior Order: Validate Before Canonicalize.
Which Openclaw versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2026.2.24 across affected packages: openclaw.
What version fixes CVE-2026-32033?
Upgrading to 2026.2.24 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is openclaw affected?
Yes, openclaw is affected in releases prior to 2026.2.24. Upgrade your dependency to 2026.2.24 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-32033?
CVE-2026-32033 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-32033?
CVE-2026-32033 is classified under CWE-180: Incorrect Behavior Order: Validate Before Canonicalize (The product validates input before it is canonicalized, which prevents the product from detecting data that becomes invalid after the canonicalization step.).
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2026-32033?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls openclaw'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-27cr-4p5m-74rj",
  "modified" : "2026-03-25T18:46:17Z",
  "published" : "2026-03-03T22:11:54Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-32033" ],
  "summary" : "OpenClaw has a workspace-only sandbox guard mismatch for @-prefixed absolute paths",
  "details" : "A workspace-only file-system guard mismatch allowed `@`-prefixed absolute paths to bypass boundary validation in some tool path checks.\n\n### Impact\nWhen `tools.fs.workspaceOnly=true`, certain `@`-prefixed absolute paths (for example `@/etc/passwd`) could be validated before canonicalization while runtime path handling normalized the prefix differently. In affected code paths this could permit reads outside the intended workspace boundary.\n\nPer `SECURITY.md`, OpenClaw is primarily a personal-assistant runtime with trusted-user assumptions, and this path is gated behind non-default sandbox/tooling configuration. That reduces practical exposure, but the bypass is still a security bug and is fixed.\n\n### Affected Packages / Versions\n- Package: `openclaw` (npm)\n- Latest published at triage time: `2026.2.23`\n- Affected versions: `<= 2026.2.23`\n- Patched versions: `>= 2026.2.24`\n\n### Fix Commit(s)\n- `9ef0fc2ff8fa7b145d1e746d6eb030b1bf692260`\n\nOpenClaw thanks @tdjackey for reporting.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "openclaw"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2026.2.24"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 2026.2.23"
    }
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-27cr-4p5m-74rj"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-32033"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/9ef0fc2ff8fa7b145d1e746d6eb030b1bf692260"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-path-traversal-via-prefixed-absolute-paths-in-workspace-boundary-validation"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-180", "CWE-22" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-03-03T22:11:54Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-03-19T22:16:38Z"
  }
}