CVE-2026-31999: Openclaw CpenClaw's ACPX Windows Wrapper Shell Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-6f6j-wx9w-ff4j
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CWE-78
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-31999 is a CRITICAL cpenclaw's acpx windows wrapper shell vulnerability (CWE-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')) affecting Openclaw libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves cpenclaw's acpx windows wrapper shell fallback allowed cwd injection in specific paths. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2026.3.1.

CVE-2026-31999 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-31999
GHSA Identifier GHSA-6f6j-wx9w-ff4j
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification CWE-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')
Affected Product Openclaw
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix CVE-2026-31999

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: 2026.3.1 
npm install openclaw@2026.3.1
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-2026-31999, 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 2026.3.1), 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-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection'), where the product constructs all or part of an os command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended os command when it is sent to a downstream component. 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 On Windows ACPX paths, wrapper resolution for `.cmd`/`.bat` could fall back to shell execution in ways that allowed `cwd` influence to alter execution behavior. ### Impact In affected Windows ACPX configurations, this could enable command execution integrity loss through cwd-influenced wrapper resolution. ### Fix Wrapper resolution now prefers explicit PATH/PATHEXT entrypoint resolution and unwrapped Node/EXE execution, with strict fail-closed handling enabled by default for unresolvable wrapper cases. ### Affected and Patched Versions - Affected: `>= 2026.2.26, < 2026.3.1` - Patched: `2026.3.1`

CVE-2026-31999 Affected Openclaw Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
2026.3.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
openclaw
npm/openclaw
npm
≥ 2026.2.26
< 2026.3.1
2026.3.1

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-6f6j-wx9w-ff4j
NVD — CVE-2026-31999 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-31999
Openclaw Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw
www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw... WEB
https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-current-working-directory-injection-via-windows-wrapper-resolution-fallback

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-31999?
CVE-2026-31999 is a security vulnerability in Openclaw involving CpenClaw's ACPX Windows wrapper shell fallback allowed cwd injection in specific paths under CWE-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection').
Which Openclaw versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2026.3.1 across affected packages: openclaw.
What version fixes CVE-2026-31999?
Upgrading to 2026.3.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is openclaw affected?
Yes, openclaw is affected in releases prior to 2026.3.1. Upgrade your dependency to 2026.3.1 or later.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-31999?
CVE-2026-31999 is classified under CWE-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection') (The product constructs all or part of an OS command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended OS command when it is sent to a downstream component.).
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2026-31999?
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-6f6j-wx9w-ff4j",
  "modified" : "2026-03-20T21:36:39Z",
  "published" : "2026-03-02T21:55:05Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-31999" ],
  "summary" : "CpenClaw's ACPX Windows wrapper shell fallback allowed cwd injection in specific paths",
  "details" : "### Summary\nOn Windows ACPX paths, wrapper resolution for `.cmd`/`.bat` could fall back to shell execution in ways that allowed `cwd` influence to alter execution behavior.\n\n### Impact\nIn affected Windows ACPX configurations, this could enable command execution integrity loss through cwd-influenced wrapper resolution.\n\n### Fix\nWrapper resolution now prefers explicit PATH/PATHEXT entrypoint resolution and unwrapped Node/EXE execution, with strict fail-closed handling enabled by default for unresolvable wrapper cases.\n\n### Affected and Patched Versions\n- Affected: `>= 2026.2.26, < 2026.3.1`\n- Patched: `2026.3.1`",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "openclaw"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "2026.2.26"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2026.3.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-6f6j-wx9w-ff4j"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-31999"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-current-working-directory-injection-via-windows-wrapper-resolution-fallback"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-78" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-03-02T21:55:05Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}