Privilege Escalation in OpenClaw (CVE-2026-100578)
Summary
Vulnerability in OpenClaw (CVE-2026-100578). Data can be tampered with by attackers. Exploitable via openclaw. Mitigation: upgrade to 2026.7.1 or later.
Original description
The description as published by the source.
OpenClaw (npm package openclaw) before 2026.7.1 fails to restrict owner-only infrastructure tools exposed through the chat.send endpoint. In Gateway deployments using authentication modes that honor caller identity and narrower operator scopes, a write-scoped non-owner caller can start a chat turn whose tool inventory includes the gateway and cron tools, causing the agent to invoke owner-only configuration or scheduling operations, including persistent state changes. Practical impact depends on the tools selected by the model and the caller's ability to steer the turn. Shared-secret token and password callers are treated as fully trusted operators under OpenClaw's security model and are outside the scope of this issue. The issue is fixed in 2026.7.1; as a workaround, restrict chat.send to administrators in identity-bearing deployments and remove gateway and cron from affected agent tool policies.
Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database NVD GitHub Advisory
Auto-generated summary
Assembled by SecPulse from the source data (CVSS, CWE, affected versions) using templates — no AI involved. Check the original description and references below for exact details.
A vulnerability tracked as CVE-2026-100578 has been found in OpenClaw.
Attackers can target a specific entry point like openclaw over the network to misuse the product.
Data can be tampered with by attackers. CVSS score: 7.6/10.
What to do: upgrade OpenClaw to 2026.7.1 or later.
If unsure, ask your IT team or search "OpenClaw CVE-2026-100578" on the vendor's site.
CVE-2026-100578 (OpenClaw) — CWE-269 / CVSS v3 7.6
Attack vector: remote (network-reachable) / no user interaction
Attack surface: openclaw / gateway / cron
Patched: 2026.7.1 — apply immediately
Plan: 1) Audit SBOM/dependencies, 2) Stage→prod upgrade, 3) Add WAF/proxy monitoring on affected endpoints, 4) Hunt IOCs in logs.
Refs: see the GHSA / vendor advisory / patched release linked on this page.
A vulnerability (CWE-269) exists in OpenClaw. Attackers reach the vulnerable code path via openclaw.
Check the vendor advisory for the affected versions of OpenClaw. Attack surface: openclaw / gateway / cron.
Severity: High (CVSS 7.6/10). Data can be tampered with by attackers.
Update to 2026.7.1.
Until the patch is applied: disable the affected feature, apply WAF rules, or restrict access via network ACLs.
Search webserver/proxy logs for unusual request patterns matching this CVE's known IOCs. Run grep -r 'OpenClaw' . against your dependency files (package-lock.json, requirements.txt, go.sum) to find affected services.
Response actions
Concrete steps and command examples for SOC/SRE teams to execute in order
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1Identify exposure identify
grep -r 'OpenClaw' . | grep -v node_modulesリポジトリと本番環境の依存ファイル (package-lock.json / requirements.txt / go.sum / Gemfile.lock 等) で
OpenClawを grep し、稼働しているサービス・バージョンを把握する。 -
2Apply patch patch
Upgrade OpenClaw to 2026.7.1ステージング環境で 2026.7.1 に上げて回帰テスト → 本番反映。回帰テストはアプリの主要ハッピーパスを含めること。
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3Post-deployment verification verify
Confirm patched version is live in productionパッチ適用後、ステージングで PoC または同等の悪用パターンを再現して脆弱性が閉じたことを確認。本番ではアクセスログ・WAF でアラート再発が無いか継続監視。
References
- web github.com
- web vulncheck.com
- web nvd.nist.gov
- web github.com