CVE-2026-34505: OpenClaw Zalo Webhook Rate Limiting Could Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-5m9r-p9g7-679c
CWE-307
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-34505 is a MODERATE zalo webhook rate limiting could vulnerability (CWE-307: Improper Restriction of Excessive Authentication Attempts) affecting OpenClaw libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves zalo webhook rate limiting could be bypassed before secret validation. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2026.3.12.

CVE-2026-34505 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-34505
GHSA Identifier GHSA-5m9r-p9g7-679c
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification CWE-307: Improper Restriction of Excessive Authentication Attempts
Affected Product OpenClaw
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix CVE-2026-34505

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: 2026.3.12
npm install openclaw@2026.3.12
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-2026-34505, 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 2026.3.12), 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-307: Improper Restriction of Excessive Authentication Attempts, where the product does not implement sufficient measures to prevent multiple failed authentication attempts within a short time frame. 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 The Zalo webhook handler applied request rate limiting only after webhook authentication succeeded. Requests with an invalid secret returned `401` but did not count against the rate limiter, allowing repeated secret guesses without triggering `429`. ### Impact This made brute-force guessing materially easier for weak but policy-compliant webhook secrets. Once the secret was guessed, an attacker could submit forged Zalo webhook traffic. ### Affected versions `openclaw` `<= 2026.3.11` ### Patch Fixed in `openclaw` `2026.3.12`. Rate limiting now applies before successful authentication is required, closing the pre-auth brute-force gap. Users should update to `2026.3.12` or later and prefer strong webhook secrets.

CVE-2026-34505 Affected OpenClaw Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
2026.3.12
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
openclaw
npm
< 2026.3.12
2026.3.12

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-34505?
CVE-2026-34505 is a security vulnerability in OpenClaw involving Zalo webhook rate limiting could be bypassed before secret validation under CWE-307: Improper Restriction of Excessive Authentication Attempts.
Which OpenClaw versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2026.3.12 across affected packages: openclaw.
What version fixes CVE-2026-34505?
Upgrading to 2026.3.12 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is openclaw affected?
Yes, openclaw is affected in releases prior to 2026.3.12. Upgrade your dependency to 2026.3.12 or later.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-34505?
CVE-2026-34505 is classified under CWE-307: Improper Restriction of Excessive Authentication Attempts (The product does not implement sufficient measures to prevent multiple failed authentication attempts within a short time frame.).
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2026-34505?
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
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-5m9r-p9g7-679c",
  "modified" : "2026-04-06T22:50:15Z",
  "published" : "2026-03-13T20:55:38Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-34505" ],
  "summary" : "OpenClaw: Zalo webhook rate limiting could be bypassed before secret validation",
  "details" : "### Summary\n\nThe Zalo webhook handler applied request rate limiting only after webhook authentication succeeded. Requests with an invalid secret returned `401` but did not count against the rate limiter, allowing repeated secret guesses without triggering `429`.\n\n### Impact\n\nThis made brute-force guessing materially easier for weak but policy-compliant webhook secrets. Once the secret was guessed, an attacker could submit forged Zalo webhook traffic.\n\n### Affected versions\n\n`openclaw` `<= 2026.3.11`\n\n### Patch\n\nFixed in `openclaw` `2026.3.12`. Rate limiting now applies before successful authentication is required, closing the pre-auth brute-force gap. Users should update to `2026.3.12` or later and prefer strong webhook secrets.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "openclaw"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2026.3.12"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 2026.3.11"
    }
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-5m9r-p9g7-679c"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-34505"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/pull/44173"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/f96ba87f033a14183fa0ede912df3a592eef55ff"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/releases/tag/v2026.3.12"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-webhook-rate-limiting-bypass-via-pre-authentication-secret-validation"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-307" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-03-13T20:55:38Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}