CVE-2026-28459: Openclaw OpenClaw Has An Arbitrary Transcript Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-64qx-vpxx-mvqf
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CVSS 7.1
CWE-78 CWE-284 CWE-23 CWE-73
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-28459 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.1) openclaw has an arbitrary transcript vulnerability (CWE-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')) affecting Openclaw libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves openclaw has an arbitrary transcript path file write via gateway sessionfile. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2026.2.12.

CVE-2026-28459 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-28459
GHSA Identifier GHSA-64qx-vpxx-mvqf
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.1
CWE Classification CWE-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')
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:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/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 None (C:N)
Integrity Low (I:L)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2026-28459

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: 2026.2.12 
npm install openclaw@2026.2.12
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-2026-28459, 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 2026.2.12), 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-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection'), where the product constructs all or part of an os command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended os command when it is sent to a downstream component. 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 OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.2.12, the gateway accepted an untrusted `sessionFile` path when resolving the session transcript file. This could allow an authenticated gateway client to create and append OpenClaw session transcript records at an arbitrary path on the gateway host. ## Affected Versions - Affected: openclaw `< 2026.2.12` - Patched: openclaw `>= 2026.2.12` (recommended: `>= 2026.2.13`) ## Impact An authenticated gateway client could influence where the gateway writes transcript data by supplying `sessionFile` outside of the sessions directory. Depending on deployment and filesystem permissions, this may enable arbitrary file creation and repeated appends, leading to configuration corruption and/or denial of service. This issue does not, by itself, provide a proven remote code execution path. ## Fix The transcript path is now constrained to the sessions directory via `resolveSessionFilePath(...)` containment checks. Fix commits: - 4199f9889f0c307b77096a229b9e085b8d856c26 - (compat) 25950bcbb8ba4d8cde002557f6e27c219ae4deda ## Credits Thanks to @tubadeligoz for the report.

CVE-2026-28459 Affected Openclaw Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
2026.2.12
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
openclaw
npm/openclaw
npm
< 2026.2.12
2026.2.12

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-64qx-vpxx-mvqf
NVD — CVE-2026-28459 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-28459
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/25950bcbb8ba4d8cde002557f6e27c219ae4deda
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/4199f9889f0c307b77096a229b9e085b8d856c26
Openclaw Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw
Openclaw Release RELEASE
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/releases/tag/v2026.2.12
www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw... WEB
https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-arbitrary-file-write-via-untrusted-sessionfile-path

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-28459?
CVE-2026-28459 is a security vulnerability in Openclaw involving OpenClaw has an arbitrary transcript path file write via gateway sessionFile under CWE-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection').
Which Openclaw versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2026.2.12 across affected packages: openclaw.
What version fixes CVE-2026-28459?
Upgrading to 2026.2.12 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is openclaw affected?
Yes, openclaw is affected in releases prior to 2026.2.12. Upgrade your dependency to 2026.2.12 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-28459?
CVE-2026-28459 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.1 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-28459?
CVE-2026-28459 is classified under CWE-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection') (The product constructs all or part of an OS command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended OS command when it is sent to a downstream component.).
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2026-28459?
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-64qx-vpxx-mvqf",
  "modified" : "2026-03-06T01:00:19Z",
  "published" : "2026-02-17T16:43:51Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-28459" ],
  "summary" : "OpenClaw has an arbitrary transcript path file write via gateway sessionFile",
  "details" : "## Summary\n\nIn OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.2.12, the gateway accepted an untrusted `sessionFile` path when resolving the session transcript file. This could allow an authenticated gateway client to create and append OpenClaw session transcript records at an arbitrary path on the gateway host.\n\n## Affected Versions\n\n- Affected: openclaw `< 2026.2.12`\n- Patched: openclaw `>= 2026.2.12` (recommended: `>= 2026.2.13`)\n\n## Impact\n\nAn authenticated gateway client could influence where the gateway writes transcript data by supplying `sessionFile` outside of the sessions directory. Depending on deployment and filesystem permissions, this may enable arbitrary file creation and repeated appends, leading to configuration corruption and/or denial of service.\n\nThis issue does not, by itself, provide a proven remote code execution path.\n\n## Fix\n\nThe transcript path is now constrained to the sessions directory via `resolveSessionFilePath(...)` containment checks.\n\nFix commits:\n- 4199f9889f0c307b77096a229b9e085b8d856c26\n- (compat) 25950bcbb8ba4d8cde002557f6e27c219ae4deda\n\n## Credits\n\nThanks to @tubadeligoz for the report.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "openclaw"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2026.2.12"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-64qx-vpxx-mvqf"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-28459"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/25950bcbb8ba4d8cde002557f6e27c219ae4deda"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/4199f9889f0c307b77096a229b9e085b8d856c26"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/releases/tag/v2026.2.12"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-arbitrary-file-write-via-untrusted-sessionfile-path"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-23", "CWE-284", "CWE-73", "CWE-78" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-02-17T16:43:51Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-03-05T22:16:18Z"
  }
}