CVE-2026-53816: OpenClaw Paired Nodes Could Forge Exec Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-3c6j-hq33-3jv4
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CVSS 7.2
CWE-284 CWE-862 CWE-863
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-53816 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.2) paired nodes could forge exec vulnerability (CWE-284: Improper Access Control) affecting OpenClaw libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves paired nodes could forge exec lifecycle events without system.run provenance. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2026.5.18.

CVE-2026-53816 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-53816
GHSA Identifier GHSA-3c6j-hq33-3jv4
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.2
CWE Classification CWE-284: Improper Access Control
Affected Product OpenClaw
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.2

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

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

How to Fix CVE-2026-53816

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 CVE-2026-53816, 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-284: Improper Access Control, where the product does not restrict or incorrectly restricts access to a resource from an unauthorized actor. 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 nodes send lifecycle events back to the gateway. In affected releases, a paired node could send an exec lifecycle event that was accepted without enough provenance tying it to an authorized `system.run` request. This issue affects the node event boundary. It does not allow an unauthenticated caller to reach the gateway; the attacker must already control a paired node connection. ### Affected configurations This affects deployments with a paired node where that node can send crafted `node.event` messages to the gateway and the target agent/session can process exec lifecycle events. ### Impact A malicious or compromised paired node could make the gateway treat attacker-supplied event data as an exec lifecycle result. In the vulnerable flow, that could steer the target session into an exec-event path that exposed capabilities the reduced node surface should not have provided. The issue is a missing provenance check for node-originated lifecycle events. ### Patched Versions The first stable patched version is `2026.5.18`. ### Mitigations Upgrade to `openclaw@2026.5.18` or later. Pair nodes only from trusted environments, and remove/re-pair nodes that may have been compromised.

CVE-2026-53816 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-3c6j-hq33-3jv4
NVD — CVE-2026-53816 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-53816
OpenClaw Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw
www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw... WEB
https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-exec-lifecycle-event-forgery-via-paired-node

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-53816?
CVE-2026-53816 is a security vulnerability in OpenClaw involving Paired nodes could forge exec lifecycle events without system.run provenance under CWE-284: Improper Access Control.
Which OpenClaw versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2026.5.18 across affected packages: openclaw.
What version fixes CVE-2026-53816?
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 CVE-2026-53816?
CVE-2026-53816 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.2 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-53816?
CVE-2026-53816 is classified under CWE-284: Improper Access Control (The product does not restrict or incorrectly restricts access to a resource from an unauthorized actor.).
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2026-53816?
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-3c6j-hq33-3jv4",
  "modified" : "2026-07-02T17:12:03Z",
  "published" : "2026-07-02T17:12:03Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-53816" ],
  "summary" : "OpenClaw: Paired nodes could forge exec lifecycle events without system.run provenance",
  "details" : "### Summary\n\nOpenClaw nodes send lifecycle events back to the gateway. In affected releases, a paired node could send an exec lifecycle event that was accepted without enough provenance tying it to an authorized `system.run` request.\n\nThis issue affects the node event boundary. It does not allow an unauthenticated caller to reach the gateway; the attacker must already control a paired node connection.\n\n### Affected configurations\n\nThis affects deployments with a paired node where that node can send crafted `node.event` messages to the gateway and the target agent/session can process exec lifecycle events.\n\n### Impact\n\nA malicious or compromised paired node could make the gateway treat attacker-supplied event data as an exec lifecycle result. In the vulnerable flow, that could steer the target session into an exec-event path that exposed capabilities the reduced node surface should not have provided.\n\nThe issue is a missing provenance check for node-originated lifecycle events.\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. Pair nodes only from trusted environments, and remove/re-pair nodes that may have been compromised.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "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-3c6j-hq33-3jv4"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-53816"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-exec-lifecycle-event-forgery-via-paired-node"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-284", "CWE-862", "CWE-863" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-07-02T17:12:03Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-06-11T21:16:23Z"
  }
}