Privilege Escalation in openclaw (CVE-2026-53832)
Summary
Vulnerability in openclaw (CVE-2026-53832). Confidential information can be exposed externally. Mitigation: upgrade to 2026.5.18 or later.
Original description
The description as published by the source.
Summary
Same-host trusted-proxy deployments could accept local forged identity headers. In affected versions, a local same-host caller that can reach the proxy-facing Gateway port could supply identity headers normally reserved for the trusted proxy.
This advisory is scoped to the named feature and configuration. It does not change OpenClaw's trusted-operator model: authenticated Gateway operators, installed plugins, and intentional local execution surfaces remain trusted unless a separate policy, approval, allowlist, sandbox, or auth boundary is crossed.
Impact
When the affected feature is enabled and reachable, this could receive operator identity associated with the forged headers. Practical impact depends on the operator's configuration and whether lower-trust input can reach that path.
Patched Versions
The first stable patched version is 2026.5.18.
Mitigations
bind trusted-proxy ingress behind the actual proxy and firewall direct same-host access. As general hardening, keep channel and tool allowlists narrow, avoid sharing one Gateway between mutually untrusted users, and disable the affected feature when it is not needed.
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-2026-53832 has been found in openclaw.
Confidential information can be exposed externally. CVSS score: 7.7/10.
What to do: upgrade openclaw to 2026.5.18 or later.
If unsure, ask your IT team or search "openclaw CVE-2026-53832" on the vendor's site.
CVE-2026-53832 (openclaw) — CWE-269 / CVSS v3 7.7
Attack vector: local / unauthenticated / no user interaction
Patched: 2026.5.18 — 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.
Check the vendor advisory for the affected versions of openclaw.
Severity: High (CVSS 7.7/10). Confidential information can be exposed externally.
Update to 2026.5.18.
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 2026.5.18ステージング環境で 2026.5.18 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
- web github.com
- web vulncheck.com
- web nvd.nist.gov
- web github.com
- web github.com