CVE-2026-22177: Openclaw OpenClaw's Config Env Vars Allowed Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-8fmp-37rc-p5g7
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CVSS 8.8
CWE-15
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-22177 is a MODERATE (CVSS 8.8) openclaw's config env vars allowed vulnerability (CWE-15: External Control of System or Configuration Setting) affecting Openclaw libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves openclaw's config env vars allowed startup env injection into service runtime. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2026.2.21.

CVE-2026-22177 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-22177
GHSA Identifier GHSA-8fmp-37rc-p5g7
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 8.8
CWE Classification CWE-15: External Control of System or Configuration Setting
Affected Product Openclaw
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 8.8

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

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

How to Fix CVE-2026-22177

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: 2026.2.21 
npm install openclaw@2026.2.21
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-2026-22177, 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 2026.2.21), 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-15: External Control of System or Configuration Setting, where one or more system settings or configuration elements can be externally controlled by a user. 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 OpenClaw allowed dangerous process-control environment variables from `env.vars` (for example `NODE_OPTIONS`, `LD_*`, `DYLD_*`) to flow into gateway service runtime environments, enabling startup-time code execution in the OpenClaw process context. ### Details `collectConfigEnvVars()` accepted unfiltered keys from config and those values were merged into the daemon install environment in `buildGatewayInstallPlan()`. Before the fix, startup-control variables were not blocked in this path. ### Affected Packages / Versions - Package: `openclaw` (npm) - Latest published affected version: `2026.2.19-2` (published February 19, 2026) - Affected range (structured): `<=2026.2.19-2 || =2026.2.19` - Patched version (pre-set for next release): `>= 2026.2.21` ### Fix Commit(s) - `2cdbadee1f8fcaa93302d7debbfc529e19868ea4` ### Release Process Note `patched_versions` is pre-set to the planned next release (`2026.2.21`). Once that npm release is published, this advisory is ready to publish without further content edits. OpenClaw thanks @tdjackey for reporting.

CVE-2026-22177 Affected Openclaw Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
2026.2.21
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
openclaw
npm/openclaw
npm
< 2026.2.21
2026.2.21

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-8fmp-37rc-p5g7
GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-w9j9-w4cp-6wgr
NVD — CVE-2026-22177 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-22177
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/2cdbadee1f8fcaa93302d7debbfc529e19868ea4
Openclaw Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw
www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw... WEB
https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-environment-variable-injection-via-config-env-vars

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-22177?
CVE-2026-22177 is a security vulnerability in Openclaw involving OpenClaw's config env vars allowed startup env injection into service runtime under CWE-15: External Control of System or Configuration Setting.
Which Openclaw versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2026.2.21 across affected packages: openclaw.
What version fixes CVE-2026-22177?
Upgrading to 2026.2.21 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is openclaw affected?
Yes, openclaw is affected in releases prior to 2026.2.21. Upgrade your dependency to 2026.2.21 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-22177?
CVE-2026-22177 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-22177?
CVE-2026-22177 is classified under CWE-15: External Control of System or Configuration Setting (One or more system settings or configuration elements can be externally controlled by a user.).
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2026-22177?
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-8fmp-37rc-p5g7",
  "modified" : "2026-04-08T19:26:19Z",
  "published" : "2026-03-03T19:53:02Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-22177" ],
  "summary" : "OpenClaw's config env vars allowed startup env injection into service runtime",
  "details" : "### Summary\nOpenClaw allowed dangerous process-control environment variables from `env.vars` (for example `NODE_OPTIONS`, `LD_*`, `DYLD_*`) to flow into gateway service runtime environments, enabling startup-time code execution in the OpenClaw process context.\n\n### Details\n`collectConfigEnvVars()` accepted unfiltered keys from config and those values were merged into the daemon install environment in `buildGatewayInstallPlan()`. Before the fix, startup-control variables were not blocked in this path.\n\n### Affected Packages / Versions\n- Package: `openclaw` (npm)\n- Latest published affected version: `2026.2.19-2` (published February 19, 2026)\n- Affected range (structured): `<=2026.2.19-2 || =2026.2.19`\n- Patched version (pre-set for next release): `>= 2026.2.21`\n\n### Fix Commit(s)\n- `2cdbadee1f8fcaa93302d7debbfc529e19868ea4`\n\n### Release Process Note\n`patched_versions` is pre-set to the planned next release (`2026.2.21`). Once that npm release is published, this advisory is ready to publish without further content edits.\n\nOpenClaw thanks @tdjackey for reporting.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:L/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-8fmp-37rc-p5g7"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-w9j9-w4cp-6wgr"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-22177"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/2cdbadee1f8fcaa93302d7debbfc529e19868ea4"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-environment-variable-injection-via-config-env-vars"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-15" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-03-03T19:53:02Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-03-18T02:16:21Z"
  }
}