GHSA-j425-whc4-4jgc: Openclaw OpenClaw's `system.run` Env Override Filtering Vulnerability

{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-j425-whc4-4jgc",
  "modified" : "2026-03-09T19:52:59Z",
  "published" : "2026-03-09T19:52:59Z",
  "aliases" : [ ],
  "summary" : "OpenClaw's `system.run` env override filtering allowed dangerous helper-command pivots",
  "details" : "### Summary\n`system.run` env override sanitization allowed dangerous override-only helper-command pivots to reach subprocesses. A caller who could invoke `system.run` with `env` overrides could bypass allowlist/approval intent by steering an allowlisted tool through helper-command or config-loading environment variables such as `GIT_SSH_COMMAND`, editor/pager hooks, and `GIT_CONFIG_*` / `NPM_CONFIG_*`.\n\n### Affected Packages / Versions\n- Package: `openclaw` (npm)\n- Latest published vulnerable version: `2026.3.2`\n- Affected range: `<= 2026.3.2`\n- Patched in: `2026.3.7`\n\n### Details\nBefore the fix, `src/infra/host-env-security.ts` blocked only a narrow set of override-only environment variables. Dangerous request-scoped overrides such as `GIT_SSH_COMMAND` and prefix families such as `GIT_CONFIG_*` and `NPM_CONFIG_*` could still survive `sanitizeSystemRunEnvOverrides(...)` / `sanitizeHostExecEnv(...)` and reach the spawned process.\n\nThat mattered for `system.run` allowlist and approval flows because approval evaluation was tied to the reviewed binary/argv, while the launched process could still inherit attacker-controlled env overrides that changed helper-command execution or config resolution. For allowlisted tools such as `git`, this allowed behavior outside the reviewed command semantics.\n\nThe fix extends the shared TypeScript and macOS policy to block dangerous override-only exact keys and prefixes while preserving trusted inherited base-environment behavior.\n\n### Impact\nThis is a real protection-bypass issue, but exploitation requires an already tool-enabled caller who can invoke `system.run` and supply `env` overrides. In affected deployments, that caller could bypass allowlist/approval intent and trigger helper-command execution or config-loading behavior that is not represented by the approved command line. Maintainer severity is set to medium because the bug still requires that existing execution capability; the vulnerability is the mismatch between reviewed command semantics and the actual spawned-process behavior.\n\n### Fix Commit(s)\n- `e27bbe4982439da6864160fd1b66445058f74801`\n\n### Release Process Note\nnpm `2026.3.7` was published on March 8, 2026. This advisory is fixed in the released package.\n\nThanks @tdjackey and @SnailSploit for reporting.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "openclaw"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2026.3.7"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 2026.3.2"
    }
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-j425-whc4-4jgc"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/e27bbe4982439da6864160fd1b66445058f74801"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/releases/tag/v2026.3.7"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-15", "CWE-639" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-03-09T19:52:59Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}