CVE-2026-53817: OpenClaw Control UI Locality Spoofing Could Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-chr9-m4q2-76hw
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CVSS 8.0
CWE-284 CWE-287 CWE-863 CWE-290
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-53817 is a HIGH (CVSS 8.0) control ui locality spoofing could vulnerability (CWE-284: Improper Access Control) affecting OpenClaw libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves control ui locality spoofing could mint a durable admin device token. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2026.5.22.

CVE-2026-53817 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-53817
GHSA Identifier GHSA-chr9-m4q2-76hw
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 8.0
CWE Classification CWE-284: Improper Access Control
Affected Product OpenClaw
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 8.0

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

Attack Vector Adjacent (AV:A)
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-2026-53817

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: 2026.5.22 
npm install openclaw@2026.5.22
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-2026-53817, 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 2026.5.22), 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-284: Improper Access Control, where the product does not restrict or incorrectly restricts access to a resource from an unauthorized 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 affected LAN/shared-token Control UI deployments, a caller could spoof locality information used during Control UI pairing and obtain a durable admin-capable device token. This issue is limited to deployments where the caller already has the network/authentication foothold needed to reach the Control UI pairing path. It is not an unauthenticated internet exposure issue. ### Affected configurations This affects configurations such as LAN-bound gateways or shared-token Control UI access where locality signals were accepted as sufficient for pairing decisions. ### Impact A temporary or shared Control UI access path could be turned into a persistent admin device token. That token could remain useful after the shared gateway token was rotated, unless the paired device was removed. The issue is a pairing/locality validation problem: locality-derived trust was stronger than it should have been. ### Patched Versions The first stable patched version is `2026.5.22`. ### Mitigations Upgrade to `openclaw@2026.5.22` or later. For older deployments, remove unexpected paired devices and avoid exposing Control UI pairing paths on networks with untrusted clients.

CVE-2026-53817 Affected OpenClaw Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
2026.5.22
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
openclaw
npm/openclaw
npm
< 2026.5.22
2026.5.22

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-chr9-m4q2-76hw
NVD — CVE-2026-53817 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-53817
OpenClaw Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw
www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw... WEB
https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-control-ui-locality-spoofing-in-device-pairing

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-53817?
CVE-2026-53817 is a security vulnerability in OpenClaw involving Control UI locality spoofing could mint a durable admin device token under CWE-284: Improper Access Control.
Which OpenClaw versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2026.5.22 across affected packages: openclaw.
What version fixes CVE-2026-53817?
Upgrading to 2026.5.22 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is openclaw affected?
Yes, openclaw is affected in releases prior to 2026.5.22. Upgrade your dependency to 2026.5.22 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-53817?
CVE-2026-53817 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.0 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-53817?
CVE-2026-53817 is classified under CWE-284: Improper Access Control (The product does not restrict or incorrectly restricts access to a resource from an unauthorized actor.).
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2026-53817?
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-chr9-m4q2-76hw",
  "modified" : "2026-07-02T16:04:35Z",
  "published" : "2026-07-02T16:04:35Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-53817" ],
  "summary" : "OpenClaw: Control UI locality spoofing could mint a durable admin device token",
  "details" : "### Summary\n\nIn affected LAN/shared-token Control UI deployments, a caller could spoof locality information used during Control UI pairing and obtain a durable admin-capable device token.\n\nThis issue is limited to deployments where the caller already has the network/authentication foothold needed to reach the Control UI pairing path. It is not an unauthenticated internet exposure issue.\n\n### Affected configurations\n\nThis affects configurations such as LAN-bound gateways or shared-token Control UI access where locality signals were accepted as sufficient for pairing decisions.\n\n### Impact\n\nA temporary or shared Control UI access path could be turned into a persistent admin device token. That token could remain useful after the shared gateway token was rotated, unless the paired device was removed.\n\nThe issue is a pairing/locality validation problem: locality-derived trust was stronger than it should have been.\n\n### Patched Versions\n\nThe first stable patched version is `2026.5.22`.\n\n### Mitigations\n\nUpgrade to `openclaw@2026.5.22` or later. For older deployments, remove unexpected paired devices and avoid exposing Control UI pairing paths on networks with untrusted clients.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/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" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2026.5.22"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-chr9-m4q2-76hw"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-53817"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-control-ui-locality-spoofing-in-device-pairing"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-284", "CWE-287", "CWE-290", "CWE-863" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-07-02T16:04:35Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-06-11T21:16:23Z"
  }
}