CVE-2026-32045: Openclaw OpenClaw's Gateway Tokenless Tailscale Auth Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-hff7-ccv5-52f8
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CWE-290
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-32045 is a MODERATE openclaw's gateway tokenless tailscale auth vulnerability (CWE-290: Authentication Bypass by Spoofing) affecting Openclaw libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves openclaw's gateway tokenless tailscale auth applied to http routes. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2026.2.21.

CVE-2026-32045 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-32045
GHSA Identifier GHSA-hff7-ccv5-52f8
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification CWE-290: Authentication Bypass by Spoofing
Affected Product Openclaw
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix CVE-2026-32045

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-2026-32045, 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-290: Authentication Bypass by Spoofing, where this attack-focused weakness is caused by incorrectly implemented authentication schemes that are subject to spoofing attacks. 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 When tokenless Tailscale auth is enabled, OpenClaw should only allow forwarded-header auth for Control UI websocket authentication on trusted hosts. In affected versions, that tokenless path could also be used by HTTP gateway auth call sites, which could bypass token/password requirements for HTTP routes in trusted-network deployments. ### Affected Packages / Versions - Package: `openclaw` (npm) - Affected range: `<= 2026.2.19-2` (latest published npm version as of February 21, 2026) - Patched in: planned `2026.2.21` release ### Impact Deployments relying on token/password for HTTP gateway routes could be downgraded to tokenless behavior when Tailscale header auth is enabled. This weakens expected HTTP route authentication boundaries even in trusted-host network setups. Per SECURITY.md, this does not affect the recommended setup: keep the Gateway loopback-only (or otherwise within a trusted host/network boundary), use Tailscale serve/funnel for remote access, and keep tokenless Tailscale auth scoped to Control UI websocket login. ### Fix - Added an explicit auth-surface gate (`allowTailscaleHeaderAuth`, default `false`) in gateway auth. - Enabled tokenless Tailscale header auth only for Control UI websocket authentication. - Kept HTTP gateway auth call sites on token/password auth paths. - Added regression coverage for HTTP-vs-websocket behavior and Tailscale header handling. ### Fix Commit(s) - `356d61aacfa5b0f1d5830716ec59d70682a3e7b8` ### Release Process Note `patched_versions` is pre-set to the planned next release (`2026.2.21`) so once npm release is published, this advisory can be published directly without further field edits. OpenClaw thanks @zpbrent for reporting.

CVE-2026-32045 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-hff7-ccv5-52f8
NVD — CVE-2026-32045 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-32045
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/356d61aacfa5b0f1d5830716ec59d70682a3e7b8
Openclaw Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw
www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw... WEB
https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-authentication-bypass-in-http-gateway-routes-via-tokenless-tailscale-auth

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-32045?
CVE-2026-32045 is a security vulnerability in Openclaw involving OpenClaw's gateway tokenless Tailscale auth applied to HTTP routes under CWE-290: Authentication Bypass by Spoofing.
Which Openclaw versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2026.2.21 across affected packages: openclaw.
What version fixes CVE-2026-32045?
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 CWE is associated with CVE-2026-32045?
CVE-2026-32045 is classified under CWE-290: Authentication Bypass by Spoofing (This attack-focused weakness is caused by incorrectly implemented authentication schemes that are subject to spoofing attacks.).
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2026-32045?
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-hff7-ccv5-52f8",
  "modified" : "2026-03-24T18:06:03Z",
  "published" : "2026-03-03T18:43:04Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-32045" ],
  "summary" : "OpenClaw's gateway tokenless Tailscale auth applied to HTTP routes",
  "details" : "### Summary\nWhen tokenless Tailscale auth is enabled, OpenClaw should only allow forwarded-header auth for Control UI websocket authentication on trusted hosts. In affected versions, that tokenless path could also be used by HTTP gateway auth call sites, which could bypass token/password requirements for HTTP routes in trusted-network deployments.\n\n### Affected Packages / Versions\n- Package: `openclaw` (npm)\n- Affected range: `<= 2026.2.19-2` (latest published npm version as of February 21, 2026)\n- Patched in: planned `2026.2.21` release\n\n### Impact\nDeployments relying on token/password for HTTP gateway routes could be downgraded to tokenless behavior when Tailscale header auth is enabled. This weakens expected HTTP route authentication boundaries even in trusted-host network setups.\n\nPer SECURITY.md, this does not affect the recommended setup: keep the Gateway loopback-only (or otherwise within a trusted host/network boundary), use Tailscale serve/funnel for remote access, and keep tokenless Tailscale auth scoped to Control UI websocket login.\n\n### Fix\n- Added an explicit auth-surface gate (`allowTailscaleHeaderAuth`, default `false`) in gateway auth.\n- Enabled tokenless Tailscale header auth only for Control UI websocket authentication.\n- Kept HTTP gateway auth call sites on token/password auth paths.\n- Added regression coverage for HTTP-vs-websocket behavior and Tailscale header handling.\n\n### Fix Commit(s)\n- `356d61aacfa5b0f1d5830716ec59d70682a3e7b8`\n\n### Release Process Note\n`patched_versions` is pre-set to the planned next release (`2026.2.21`) so once npm release is published, this advisory can be published directly without further field edits.\n\nOpenClaw thanks @zpbrent for reporting.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/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-hff7-ccv5-52f8"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-32045"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/356d61aacfa5b0f1d5830716ec59d70682a3e7b8"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-authentication-bypass-in-http-gateway-routes-via-tokenless-tailscale-auth"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-290" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-03-03T18:43:04Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}