CVE-2026-43529: OpenClaw TOCTOU Read Vulnerability

{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-gj9q-8w99-mp8j",
  "modified" : "2026-05-05T11:57:02Z",
  "published" : "2026-04-16T21:19:21Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-43529" ],
  "summary" : "OpenClaw: TOCTOU read in exec script preflight",
  "details" : "## Summary\n\nOpenClaw's exec script preflight validator previously validated and then read a script by mutable pathname. A local race could swap the path between validation and read, causing preflight analysis to inspect a different file identity than the one that passed the workspace boundary check.\n\n## Affected Packages / Versions\n\n- Package: `openclaw`\n- Ecosystem: npm\n- Affected versions: `< 2026.4.10`\n- Patched versions: `>= 2026.4.10`\n\n## Impact\n\nThe impact is limited. This was not arbitrary full-file disclosure through the preflight error path. The validator only surfaced derived preflight content, such as a matched token, a line number, or the first non-empty JavaScript line in one branch. Exploitation also required the ability to mutate the relevant workspace path during the preflight window.\n\nStill, this was a real TOCTOU boundary bug in code that is supposed to reason about workspace-local script files before execution. A file identity that passed the initial boundary validation could differ from the identity that was later read for preflight analysis.\n\n## Technical Details\n\nThe vulnerable flow performed separate path validation and file reads in `validateScriptFileForShellBleed`. Because the read was path-based, an attacker with write access to the workspace path could race replacement of the target after validation but before preflight read.\n\n## Fix\n\nPR #62333 replaced the check-then-read flow with a pinned safe-open/read path using the shared `readFileWithinRoot` helper. The fixed path performs boundary verification around the opened file identity and avoids relying on a mutable pathname for the final preflight read. Regression tests cover both pre-open and post-open swap windows.\n\n## Fix Commit(s)\n\n- `b024fae9e5df43e9b69b2daebb72be3469d52e91` (`fix(exec): replace TOCTOU check-then-read with atomic pinned-fd open in script preflight [AI]`)\n- PR: #62333\n\n## Release Process Note\n\nThe fix first shipped in `v2026.4.10`. Users should upgrade to `openclaw` `2026.4.10` or newer; the latest npm release already includes the fix.\n\n## Credits\n\nThanks to @kikayli for reporting this issue.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:H/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "openclaw"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2026.4.10"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-gj9q-8w99-mp8j"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/pull/62333"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/b024fae9e5df43e9b69b2daebb72be3469d52e91"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-367" ],
    "severity" : "LOW",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-04-16T21:19:21Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}