CVE-2026-28468: Openclaw Authentication Bypass Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-h9g4-589h-68xv
CVSS 7.1
CWE-306
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-28468 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.1) authentication bypass vulnerability (CWE-306: Missing Authentication for Critical Function) affecting Openclaw libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves openclaw has an authentication bypass in sandbox browser bridge server. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2026.2.14.

CVE-2026-28468 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-28468
GHSA Identifier GHSA-h9g4-589h-68xv
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.1
CWE Classification CWE-306: Missing Authentication for Critical Function
Affected Product Openclaw
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.1

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

Attack Vector Local (AV:L)
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 None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2026-28468

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: 2026.2.14
npm install openclaw@2026.2.14
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-2026-28468, 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 2026.2.14), 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-306: Missing Authentication for Critical Function, where the product does not perform any authentication for functionality that requires a provable user identity or consumes a significant amount of resources. 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 could start the sandbox browser bridge server without authentication. When the sandboxed browser is enabled, openclaw runs a local (loopback) HTTP bridge that exposes browser control endpoints (for example `/profiles`, `/tabs`, `/tabs/open`, `/agent/*`). Due to missing auth wiring in the sandbox initialization path, that bridge server accepted requests without requiring gateway auth. ## Impact A local attacker (any process on the same machine) could access the bridge server port and: - enumerate open tabs and retrieve CDP WebSocket URLs - open/close/navigate tabs - execute JavaScript in page contexts via CDP - exfiltrate cookies/session data and page contents from authenticated sessions This is a localhost-only exposure (CVSS AV:L), but provides full browser-session compromise for sandboxed browser usage. ## Affected Versions - Introduced in: `2026.1.29-beta.1` (first npm release that shipped the sandbox browser bridge) - Affected range: `>=2026.1.29-beta.1 <2026.2.14` ## Patched Versions - `2026.2.14` ## Mitigation - Upgrade to `2026.2.14` (recommended). - Or disable the sandboxed browser (`agents.defaults.sandbox.browser.enabled=false`). ## Fix Details - The sandbox browser bridge server now always requires auth and enforces the same gateway browser control auth (token/password) that loopback browser clients already use. - Additional hardening: bridge server refuses non-loopback binds; local helper servers are bound to loopback. - Added regression tests (including unit coverage for per-port bridge auth fallback). Fix commits: - openclaw/openclaw@4711a943e30bc58016247152ba06472dab09d0b0 - openclaw/openclaw@6dd6bce997c48752134f2d6ed89b27de01ced7e3 - openclaw/openclaw@cd84885a4ac78eadb7bf321aae98db9519426d67 ## Credits Thanks to Adnan Jakati (@jackhax) of [Praetorian](https://www.praetorian.com/) for reporting this issue.

CVE-2026-28468 Affected Openclaw Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
2026.2.14
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
openclaw
npm
≥ 2026.1.29-beta.1
< 2026.2.14
2026.2.14

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-28468?
CVE-2026-28468 is a security vulnerability in Openclaw involving OpenClaw has an authentication bypass in sandbox browser bridge server under CWE-306: Missing Authentication for Critical Function.
Which Openclaw versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2026.2.14 across affected packages: openclaw.
What version fixes CVE-2026-28468?
Upgrading to 2026.2.14 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is openclaw affected?
Yes, openclaw is affected in releases prior to 2026.2.14. Upgrade your dependency to 2026.2.14 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-28468?
CVE-2026-28468 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.1 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-28468?
CVE-2026-28468 is classified under CWE-306: Missing Authentication for Critical Function (The product does not perform any authentication for functionality that requires a provable user identity or consumes a significant amount of resources.).
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2026-28468?
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
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-h9g4-589h-68xv",
  "modified" : "2026-03-05T21:50:00Z",
  "published" : "2026-02-18T17:45:31Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-28468" ],
  "summary" : "OpenClaw has an authentication bypass in sandbox browser bridge server",
  "details" : "## Summary\n\nopenclaw could start the sandbox browser bridge server without authentication.\n\nWhen the sandboxed browser is enabled, openclaw runs a local (loopback) HTTP bridge that exposes browser control endpoints (for example `/profiles`, `/tabs`, `/tabs/open`, `/agent/*`). Due to missing auth wiring in the sandbox initialization path, that bridge server accepted requests without requiring gateway auth.\n\n## Impact\n\nA local attacker (any process on the same machine) could access the bridge server port and:\n\n- enumerate open tabs and retrieve CDP WebSocket URLs\n- open/close/navigate tabs\n- execute JavaScript in page contexts via CDP\n- exfiltrate cookies/session data and page contents from authenticated sessions\n\nThis is a localhost-only exposure (CVSS AV:L), but provides full browser-session compromise for sandboxed browser usage.\n\n## Affected Versions\n\n- Introduced in: `2026.1.29-beta.1` (first npm release that shipped the sandbox browser bridge)\n- Affected range: `>=2026.1.29-beta.1 <2026.2.14`\n\n## Patched Versions\n\n- `2026.2.14`\n\n## Mitigation\n\n- Upgrade to `2026.2.14` (recommended).\n- Or disable the sandboxed browser (`agents.defaults.sandbox.browser.enabled=false`).\n\n## Fix Details\n\n- The sandbox browser bridge server now always requires auth and enforces the same gateway browser control auth (token/password) that loopback browser clients already use.\n- Additional hardening: bridge server refuses non-loopback binds; local helper servers are bound to loopback.\n- Added regression tests (including unit coverage for per-port bridge auth fallback).\n\nFix commits:\n\n- openclaw/openclaw@4711a943e30bc58016247152ba06472dab09d0b0\n- openclaw/openclaw@6dd6bce997c48752134f2d6ed89b27de01ced7e3\n- openclaw/openclaw@cd84885a4ac78eadb7bf321aae98db9519426d67\n## Credits\n\nThanks to Adnan Jakati (@jackhax) of [Praetorian](https://www.praetorian.com/) for reporting this issue.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "openclaw"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "2026.1.29-beta.1"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2026.2.14"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-h9g4-589h-68xv"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/4711a943e30bc58016247152ba06472dab09d0b0"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/6dd6bce997c48752134f2d6ed89b27de01ced7e3"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/cd84885a4ac78eadb7bf321aae98db9519426d67"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/releases/tag/v2026.2.14"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-306" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-02-18T17:45:31Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}