CVE-2026-32980: Openclaw Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-jq3f-vjww-8rq7
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-400 CWE-770
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-32980 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) remote code execution vulnerability (CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption) affecting Openclaw libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves openclaw telegram webhook request bodies were read before secret validation, enabling unauthenticated resource exhaustion. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2026.3.13.

CVE-2026-32980 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-32980
GHSA Identifier GHSA-jq3f-vjww-8rq7
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
Affected Product Openclaw
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.5

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

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality None (C:N)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2026-32980

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: 2026.3.13 
npm install openclaw@2026.3.13
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-2026-32980, 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 2026.3.13), 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-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption, where the product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource. 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` versions `<= 2026.3.12` read and buffered Telegram webhook request bodies before validating `x-telegram-bot-api-secret-token`. This let unauthenticated callers force up to the configured webhook body limit of pre-auth body I/O and JSON parse work per request. ### Affected Packages / Versions - Package: `openclaw` (`npm`) - Affected versions: `<= 2026.3.12` - Fixed version: `2026.3.13` ### Details The vulnerable path was the standalone Telegram webhook listener in `src/telegram/webhook.ts`. In affected releases, the request handler accepted `POST` requests, called `readJsonBodyWithLimit(...)`, and only then checked the Telegram secret header. Because the secret validation happened after body reading, an unauthenticated caller could make the server spend memory, socket time, and JSON parse work on requests that should have been rejected before any body processing. This issue is in scope under OpenClaw's trust model because the Telegram webhook endpoint accepts untrusted network traffic and the secret header is the authentication boundary for that ingress path. ### Fix `openclaw@2026.3.13` validates the Telegram webhook secret before any body I/O. Current code reads the header, rejects invalid requests immediately with `401`, and only calls `readJsonBodyWithLimit(...)` after `hasValidTelegramWebhookSecret(...)` succeeds. Regression coverage exists in `src/telegram/webhook.test.ts` (`rejects unauthenticated requests before reading the request body`). ### Fix Commit(s) - `7e49e98f79073b11134beac27fdff547ba5a4a02` Thanks @space08 for reporting.

CVE-2026-32980 Affected Openclaw Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
2026.3.13
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
openclaw
npm/openclaw
npm
< 2026.3.13
2026.3.13

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-jq3f-vjww-8rq7
NVD — CVE-2026-32980 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-32980
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/7e49e98f79073b11134beac27fdff547ba5a4a02
Openclaw Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw
www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw... WEB
https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-resource-exhaustion-via-unauthenticated-telegram-webhook-request

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-32980?
CVE-2026-32980 is a security vulnerability in Openclaw involving OpenClaw Telegram webhook request bodies were read before secret validation, enabling unauthenticated resource exhaustion under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption.
Which Openclaw versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2026.3.13 across affected packages: openclaw.
What version fixes CVE-2026-32980?
Upgrading to 2026.3.13 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is openclaw affected?
Yes, openclaw is affected in releases prior to 2026.3.13. Upgrade your dependency to 2026.3.13 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-32980?
CVE-2026-32980 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-32980?
CVE-2026-32980 is classified under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption (The product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource.).
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2026-32980?
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-jq3f-vjww-8rq7",
  "modified" : "2026-04-01T00:05:51Z",
  "published" : "2026-03-16T20:40:57Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-32980" ],
  "summary" : "OpenClaw Telegram webhook request bodies were read before secret validation, enabling unauthenticated resource exhaustion",
  "details" : "### Summary\n`openclaw` versions `<= 2026.3.12` read and buffered Telegram webhook request bodies before validating `x-telegram-bot-api-secret-token`. This let unauthenticated callers force up to the configured webhook body limit of pre-auth body I/O and JSON parse work per request.\n\n### Affected Packages / Versions\n- Package: `openclaw` (`npm`)\n- Affected versions: `<= 2026.3.12`\n- Fixed version: `2026.3.13`\n\n### Details\nThe vulnerable path was the standalone Telegram webhook listener in `src/telegram/webhook.ts`. In affected releases, the request handler accepted `POST` requests, called `readJsonBodyWithLimit(...)`, and only then checked the Telegram secret header. Because the secret validation happened after body reading, an unauthenticated caller could make the server spend memory, socket time, and JSON parse work on requests that should have been rejected before any body processing.\n\nThis issue is in scope under OpenClaw's trust model because the Telegram webhook endpoint accepts untrusted network traffic and the secret header is the authentication boundary for that ingress path.\n\n### Fix\n`openclaw@2026.3.13` validates the Telegram webhook secret before any body I/O. Current code reads the header, rejects invalid requests immediately with `401`, and only calls `readJsonBodyWithLimit(...)` after `hasValidTelegramWebhookSecret(...)` succeeds.\n\nRegression coverage exists in `src/telegram/webhook.test.ts` (`rejects unauthenticated requests before reading the request body`).\n\n### Fix Commit(s)\n- `7e49e98f79073b11134beac27fdff547ba5a4a02`\n\nThanks @space08 for reporting.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "openclaw"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2026.3.13"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 2026.3.12"
    }
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-jq3f-vjww-8rq7"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-32980"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/7e49e98f79073b11134beac27fdff547ba5a4a02"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-resource-exhaustion-via-unauthenticated-telegram-webhook-request"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-400", "CWE-770" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-03-16T20:40:57Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}