GHSA-fqw4-mph7-2vr8: OpenClaw Silent Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

CRITICAL
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CWE-863
Published
Advisory Summary

GHSA-fqw4-mph7-2vr8 is a CRITICAL silent privilege escalation vulnerability (CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization) affecting OpenClaw libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves silent privilege escalation via gateway shared-auth reconnect. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

GHSA-fqw4-mph7-2vr8 at a Glance

CVE Identifier N/A
GHSA Identifier GHSA-fqw4-mph7-2vr8
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization
Affected Product OpenClaw
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix GHSA-fqw4-mph7-2vr8

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: Latest secure release 
npm install openclaw@Latest secure release
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 GHSA-fqw4-mph7-2vr8, 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 the patched release), 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-863: Incorrect Authorization, where the product performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action, but it does not correctly perform the check. 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 Gateway local shared-auth reconnect silently widens paired device scope from operator.read to operator.admin and reach node RCE ## Affected Packages / Versions - Package: `openclaw` - Affected versions: `<= 2026.3.24` - First patched version: `2026.3.25` - Latest published npm version at verification time: `2026.3.24` ## Details Silent local shared-auth reconnects could previously auto-approve `scope-upgrade` requests and widen a paired device from `operator.read` to `operator.admin`. Commit `81ebc7e0344fd19c85778e883bad45e2da972229` blocks silent reconnect scope upgrades so widened scopes require an explicit pairing approval instead of an implicit local reconnect path. Verified vulnerable on tag `v2026.3.24` and fixed on `main` by commit `81ebc7e0344fd19c85778e883bad45e2da972229`. ## Fix Commit(s) - `81ebc7e0344fd19c85778e883bad45e2da972229`

GHSA-fqw4-mph7-2vr8 Affected OpenClaw Versions

1 component(s)
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
openclaw
npm/openclaw
npm
≤ 2026.3.24

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-fqw4-mph7-2vr8
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/81ebc7e0344fd19c85778e883bad45e2da972229
OpenClaw Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw

Frequently Asked Questions

What is GHSA-fqw4-mph7-2vr8?
GHSA-fqw4-mph7-2vr8 is a security vulnerability in OpenClaw involving Silent privilege escalation via gateway shared-auth reconnect under CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization.
Which OpenClaw versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches across affected packages: openclaw.
What version fixes GHSA-fqw4-mph7-2vr8?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is openclaw affected?
Yes, openclaw is affected in releases prior to Latest secure release. Upgrade your dependency to Latest secure release or later.
What CWE is associated with GHSA-fqw4-mph7-2vr8?
GHSA-fqw4-mph7-2vr8 is classified under CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization (The product performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action, but it does not correctly perform the check.).
How can I check npm dependencies for GHSA-fqw4-mph7-2vr8?
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-fqw4-mph7-2vr8",
  "modified" : "2026-03-27T22:29:47Z",
  "published" : "2026-03-27T22:29:47Z",
  "aliases" : [ ],
  "summary" : "OpenClaw: Silent privilege escalation via gateway shared-auth reconnect",
  "details" : "## Summary\n\nGateway local shared-auth reconnect silently widens paired device scope from operator.read to operator.admin and reach node RCE\n\n## Affected Packages / Versions\n\n- Package: `openclaw`\n- Affected versions: `<= 2026.3.24`\n- First patched version: `2026.3.25`\n- Latest published npm version at verification time: `2026.3.24`\n\n## Details\n\nSilent local shared-auth reconnects could previously auto-approve `scope-upgrade` requests and widen a paired device from `operator.read` to `operator.admin`. Commit `81ebc7e0344fd19c85778e883bad45e2da972229` blocks silent reconnect scope upgrades so widened scopes require an explicit pairing approval instead of an implicit local reconnect path.\n\nVerified vulnerable on tag `v2026.3.24` and fixed on `main` by commit `81ebc7e0344fd19c85778e883bad45e2da972229`.\n\n## Fix Commit(s)\n\n- `81ebc7e0344fd19c85778e883bad45e2da972229`",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:A/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "openclaw"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "last_affected" : "2026.3.24"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-fqw4-mph7-2vr8"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/81ebc7e0344fd19c85778e883bad45e2da972229"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-863" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-03-27T22:29:47Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}