CVE-2026-32022: Openclaw OpenClaw SafeBins Grep -e File Vulnerability

{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-3xfw-4pmr-4xc5",
  "modified" : "2026-06-08T23:23:40Z",
  "published" : "2026-03-03T19:09:20Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-32022" ],
  "summary" : "OpenClaw safeBins grep -e File Read Bypass (stdin-only policy bypass)",
  "details" : "### Summary\n\nOpenClaw `tools.exec.safeBins` had a stdin-only policy bypass for `grep`.\nIf pattern input was supplied through `-e` / `--regexp`, the validator consumed the pattern as a flag value and still allowed one positional operand. That positional could be a bare filename like `.env`.\n\n### Affected Packages / Versions\n\n- Package: `openclaw` (npm)\n- Latest published vulnerable version: `2026.2.19-2`\n- Structured vulnerable range: `<= 2026.2.19-2`\n- Planned fixed range for next release: `>= 2026.2.21`\n\n### Exploit Preconditions\n\n- `tools.exec.safeBins` must include `grep` (this is opt-in; `grep` is not in the default safe-bin list).\n- An actor must be able to invoke exec tooling under that profile.\n\n### Technical Details\n\n`src/infra/exec-safe-bin-policy.ts` configured `grep` with `maxPositional: 1` and allowed `-e` / `--regexp` value flags.\nBecause `-e` consumes the pattern in flag-value position, the remaining positional budget could be used for a file operand.\nExample accepted input in vulnerable builds:\n\n```bash\ngrep -e SECRET .env\n```\n\nThat violated the intended stdin-only guarantee for safe bins.\n\n### Impact\n\nWith `grep` opt-in enabled, callers could read bare-relative files from the working directory (for example `.env`, `credentials.txt`) in flows expected to be stdin-only.\n\n### Severity Rationale\n\nCVSS v3.1 is set to:\n`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N` (5.3, Medium)\n\n`AC:H` is used because exploitation depends on a non-default configuration (`grep` must be explicitly added to safe bins) in addition to normal low-privilege tool-invocation capability.\n\n### Fix Commit(s)\n\n- `c6ee14d60e4cbd6a82f9b2d74ebeb1e8ee814964`\n\n### Release Process Note\n\n`patched_versions` is pre-set to `>= 2026.2.21` so this advisory is ready to publish after the `2026.2.21` npm release is live.\n\nOpenClaw thanks @athuljayaram for reporting.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "openclaw"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2026.2.21"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-3xfw-4pmr-4xc5"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-32022"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/c6ee14d60e4cbd6a82f9b2d74ebeb1e8ee814964"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-arbitrary-file-read-via-grep-e-flag-policy-bypass"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-184" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-03-03T19:09:20Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-03-19T22:16:36Z"
  }
}