Vulnerability in openclaw (CVE-2026-22177)
Summary
Vulnerability in openclaw (CVE-2026-22177). Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover. Exploitable via env.vars. Mitigation: upgrade to 2026.2.21 or later.
Original description
The description as published by the source.
Summary
OpenClaw allowed dangerous process-control environment variables from env.vars (for example NODE_OPTIONS, LD_*, DYLD_*) to flow into gateway service runtime environments, enabling startup-time code execution in the OpenClaw process context.
Details
collectConfigEnvVars() accepted unfiltered keys from config and those values were merged into the daemon install environment in buildGatewayInstallPlan(). Before the fix, startup-control variables were not blocked in this path.
Affected Packages / Versions
- Package:
openclaw(npm) - Latest published affected version:
2026.2.19-2(published February 19, 2026) - Affected range (structured):
<=2026.2.19-2 || =2026.2.19 - Patched version (pre-set for next release):
>= 2026.2.21
Fix Commit(s)
2cdbadee1f8fcaa93302d7debbfc529e19868ea4
Release Process Note
patched_versions is pre-set to the planned next release (2026.2.21). Once that npm release is published, this advisory is ready to publish without further content edits.
OpenClaw thanks @tdjackey for reporting.
Source: OSV.dev (Open Source Vulnerabilities) NVD GitHub Advisory OSV
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-2026-22177 has been found in openclaw.
Attackers can target a specific entry point like env.vars over the network to misuse the product.
Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover.
What to do: upgrade openclaw to 2026.2.21 or later.
If unsure, ask your IT team or search "openclaw CVE-2026-22177" on the vendor's site.
CVE-2026-22177 (openclaw) — CWE-15
Attack vector: remote (network-reachable) / no user interaction
Attack surface: env.vars / NODE_OPTIONS / openclaw / patched_versions
Patched: 2026.2.21 — 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-15) exists in openclaw. Attackers reach the vulnerable code path via env.vars.
Check the vendor advisory for the affected versions of openclaw. Attack surface: env.vars / NODE_OPTIONS / openclaw / patched_versions.
Severity: ?. Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover.
Update to 2026.2.21.
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
-
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 2026.2.21ステージング環境で 2026.2.21 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。
-
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。
Affected packages
References
- advisory nvd.nist.gov
- package github.com
- web github.com
- web github.com
- web github.com
- web vulncheck.com