GHSA-qjpc-qf9m-xwmr: OpenClaw Trusted-proxy Control UI WebSocket Accepted Vulnerability

HIGH
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CVSS 8.8
CWE-862 CWE-863
Published
Advisory Summary

GHSA-qjpc-qf9m-xwmr is a HIGH (CVSS 8.8) trusted-proxy control ui websocket accepted vulnerability (CWE-862: Missing Authorization) affecting OpenClaw libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves trusted-proxy control ui websocket accepted client-declared scopes before pairing. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2026.5.18.

GHSA-qjpc-qf9m-xwmr at a Glance

CVE Identifier N/A
GHSA Identifier GHSA-qjpc-qf9m-xwmr
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 8.8
CWE Classification CWE-862: Missing Authorization
Affected Product OpenClaw
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 8.8

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

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
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 High (A:H)

How to Fix GHSA-qjpc-qf9m-xwmr

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: 2026.5.18 
npm install openclaw@2026.5.18
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-qjpc-qf9m-xwmr, 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 2026.5.18), 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-862: Missing Authorization, where the product does not perform an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action. 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 In trusted-proxy Control UI mode, OpenClaw accepted a WebSocket client's declared operator scopes before those scopes were bound to a server-approved pairing or trusted-proxy authorization baseline. This issue affects trusted-proxy Control UI deployments. It does not apply to shared-secret Control UI sessions, which are treated as trusted operator sessions by design. ### Affected configurations This affects deployments using `gateway.auth.mode: "trusted-proxy"` for Control UI access where a restricted trusted-proxy user could open a Control UI WebSocket and present a fresh, unpaired device identity with elevated requested scopes. ### Impact An unpaired or restricted trusted-proxy Control UI client could obtain cached `operator.admin` authority on its live WebSocket connection. That authority could then be used for admin-gated Gateway RPCs until the connection was closed or revalidated. ### Patched Versions The first stable patched version is `2026.5.18`. ### Mitigations Upgrade to `openclaw@2026.5.18` or later. Before upgrading, restrict trusted-proxy Control UI access to users who should have the scopes they can request, and restart the gateway after changing trusted-proxy authorization policy.

GHSA-qjpc-qf9m-xwmr Affected OpenClaw Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
2026.5.18
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
openclaw
npm/openclaw
npm
< 2026.5.18
2026.5.18

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-qjpc-qf9m-xwmr
OpenClaw Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw

Frequently Asked Questions

What is GHSA-qjpc-qf9m-xwmr?
GHSA-qjpc-qf9m-xwmr is a security vulnerability in OpenClaw involving Trusted-proxy Control UI WebSocket accepted client-declared scopes before pairing under CWE-862: Missing Authorization.
Which OpenClaw versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2026.5.18 across affected packages: openclaw.
What version fixes GHSA-qjpc-qf9m-xwmr?
Upgrading to 2026.5.18 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is openclaw affected?
Yes, openclaw is affected in releases prior to 2026.5.18. Upgrade your dependency to 2026.5.18 or later.
What is the CVSS score of GHSA-qjpc-qf9m-xwmr?
GHSA-qjpc-qf9m-xwmr has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with GHSA-qjpc-qf9m-xwmr?
GHSA-qjpc-qf9m-xwmr is classified under CWE-862: Missing Authorization (The product does not perform an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action.).
How can I check npm dependencies for GHSA-qjpc-qf9m-xwmr?
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-qjpc-qf9m-xwmr",
  "modified" : "2026-07-02T16:43:53Z",
  "published" : "2026-07-02T16:43:53Z",
  "aliases" : [ ],
  "summary" : "OpenClaw: Trusted-proxy Control UI WebSocket accepted client-declared scopes before pairing",
  "details" : "### Summary\n\nIn trusted-proxy Control UI mode, OpenClaw accepted a WebSocket client's declared operator scopes before those scopes were bound to a server-approved pairing or trusted-proxy authorization baseline.\n\nThis issue affects trusted-proxy Control UI deployments. It does not apply to shared-secret Control UI sessions, which are treated as trusted operator sessions by design.\n\n### Affected configurations\n\nThis affects deployments using `gateway.auth.mode: \"trusted-proxy\"` for Control UI access where a restricted trusted-proxy user could open a Control UI WebSocket and present a fresh, unpaired device identity with elevated requested scopes.\n\n### Impact\n\nAn unpaired or restricted trusted-proxy Control UI client could obtain cached `operator.admin` authority on its live WebSocket connection. That authority could then be used for admin-gated Gateway RPCs until the connection was closed or revalidated.\n\n### Patched Versions\n\nThe first stable patched version is `2026.5.18`.\n\n### Mitigations\n\nUpgrade to `openclaw@2026.5.18` or later. Before upgrading, restrict trusted-proxy Control UI access to users who should have the scopes they can request, and restart the gateway after changing trusted-proxy authorization policy.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "openclaw"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2026.5.18"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-qjpc-qf9m-xwmr"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-862", "CWE-863" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-07-02T16:43:53Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}