GHSA-2hm8-rqrm-xfjq: Openclaw OpenClaw's Owner-only Gateway Tool Access Vulnerability

MODERATE
Share
CWE-269 CWE-863
Published
Advisory Summary

GHSA-2hm8-rqrm-xfjq is a MODERATE openclaw's owner-only gateway tool access vulnerability (CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management) affecting Openclaw libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves openclaw's owner-only gateway tool access checks were incomplete in specific authenticated dm flows. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2026.2.19.

GHSA-2hm8-rqrm-xfjq at a Glance

CVE Identifier N/A
GHSA Identifier GHSA-2hm8-rqrm-xfjq
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management
Affected Product Openclaw
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix GHSA-2hm8-rqrm-xfjq

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: 2026.2.19 
npm install openclaw@2026.2.19
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 GHSA-2hm8-rqrm-xfjq, 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 2026.2.19), 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-269: Improper Privilege Management, where the product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor. 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

## Summary In authenticated non-owner DM sessions, a narrow tool-invocation path could reach broader-than-intended owner-only gateway actions. ## Impact This requires an authenticated non-owner sender in a DM session and a specific tool invocation path. No unauthenticated access is involved, and this does not provide direct code execution by itself. ## Root Cause - Some gateway call paths were still using broader default scopes instead of method-level least-privilege scopes. - Owner-only enforcement depended on tool-name checks and was not consistently metadata-driven across all call paths. ## Affected Packages / Versions - Package: `openclaw` (npm) - Affected: `<= 2026.2.17` (latest published npm version as of February 19, 2026) - Patched: `2026.2.19` ## Remediation - Refactored gateway method scope mapping to a data-driven table and added guard tests to ensure all exposed core gateway methods stay classified. - Centralized owner-only enforcement in tool policy wrappers and tool metadata. - Marked owner-only tools explicitly (`cron`, `gateway`, `whatsapp_login`) and removed duplicated per-tool owner checks. - Refactored gateway call path internals into smaller helpers while preserving behavior and coverage. ## Fix Commit(s) - `a40c10d3e24568b1e2947c104484be74bf66b8d2` - `2777d8ad91ef1e8a7c6f5b4b18f8507be7d02914` - `3d7ad1cfca4daaa84cd553e843e0e08fa6201349` OpenClaw thanks @Adam55A-code for reporting.

GHSA-2hm8-rqrm-xfjq Affected Openclaw Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
2026.2.19
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
openclaw
npm/openclaw
npm
< 2026.2.19
2026.2.19

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-2hm8-rqrm-xfjq
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/2777d8ad91ef1e8a7c6f5b4b18f8507be7d02914
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/3d7ad1cfca4daaa84cd553e843e0e08fa6201349
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/a40c10d3e24568b1e2947c104484be74bf66b8d2
Openclaw Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw

Frequently Asked Questions

What is GHSA-2hm8-rqrm-xfjq?
GHSA-2hm8-rqrm-xfjq is a security vulnerability in Openclaw involving OpenClaw's owner-only gateway tool access checks were incomplete in specific authenticated DM flows under CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management.
Which Openclaw versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2026.2.19 across affected packages: openclaw.
What version fixes GHSA-2hm8-rqrm-xfjq?
Upgrading to 2026.2.19 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is openclaw affected?
Yes, openclaw is affected in releases prior to 2026.2.19. Upgrade your dependency to 2026.2.19 or later.
What CWE is associated with GHSA-2hm8-rqrm-xfjq?
GHSA-2hm8-rqrm-xfjq is classified under CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management (The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.).
How can I check npm dependencies for GHSA-2hm8-rqrm-xfjq?
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-2hm8-rqrm-xfjq",
  "modified" : "2026-03-03T21:36:33Z",
  "published" : "2026-03-03T21:36:33Z",
  "aliases" : [ ],
  "summary" : "OpenClaw's owner-only gateway tool access checks were incomplete in specific authenticated DM flows",
  "details" : "## Summary\n\nIn authenticated non-owner DM sessions, a narrow tool-invocation path could reach broader-than-intended owner-only gateway actions.\n\n## Impact\n\nThis requires an authenticated non-owner sender in a DM session and a specific tool invocation path. No unauthenticated access is involved, and this does not provide direct code execution by itself.\n\n## Root Cause\n\n- Some gateway call paths were still using broader default scopes instead of method-level least-privilege scopes.\n- Owner-only enforcement depended on tool-name checks and was not consistently metadata-driven across all call paths.\n\n## Affected Packages / Versions\n\n- Package: `openclaw` (npm)\n- Affected: `<= 2026.2.17` (latest published npm version as of February 19, 2026)\n- Patched: `2026.2.19`\n\n## Remediation\n\n- Refactored gateway method scope mapping to a data-driven table and added guard tests to ensure all exposed core gateway methods stay classified.\n- Centralized owner-only enforcement in tool policy wrappers and tool metadata.\n- Marked owner-only tools explicitly (`cron`, `gateway`, `whatsapp_login`) and removed duplicated per-tool owner checks.\n- Refactored gateway call path internals into smaller helpers while preserving behavior and coverage.\n\n## Fix Commit(s)\n\n- `a40c10d3e24568b1e2947c104484be74bf66b8d2`\n- `2777d8ad91ef1e8a7c6f5b4b18f8507be7d02914`\n- `3d7ad1cfca4daaa84cd553e843e0e08fa6201349`\n\nOpenClaw thanks @Adam55A-code for reporting.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "openclaw"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2026.2.19"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-2hm8-rqrm-xfjq"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/2777d8ad91ef1e8a7c6f5b4b18f8507be7d02914"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/3d7ad1cfca4daaa84cd553e843e0e08fa6201349"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/a40c10d3e24568b1e2947c104484be74bf66b8d2"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-269", "CWE-863" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-03-03T21:36:33Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}