BREW-OPENCLAW-CLI-GHSA-7… (GHSA-796M-2973-WC5Q)

Vulnerability from osv_homebrew – Published: 2026-08-13 17:21 – Updated: 2026-10-15 09:00 – Source website
VLAI
Summary
OpenClaw has exec allowlist/safeBins policy-runtime mismatch via env -S wrapper interpretation
Details

Summary

tools.exec allowlist/safe-bins evaluation could diverge from runtime execution for wrapper commands using GNU env -S/--split-string semantics. This allowed policy checks to treat a command as a benign safe-bin invocation while runtime executed a different payload.

Affected Packages / Versions

  • Package: openclaw (npm)
  • Vulnerable versions: <= 2026.2.22-2 (latest currently published npm version)
  • Patched version (released): 2026.2.23

Impact

An attacker able to influence tool command text (for example via untrusted prompt/content injection reaching an exec-capable flow) could bypass allowlist/safe-bins intent and execute unexpected commands.

Technical Details

Root cause was policy/runtime interpretation mismatch for dispatch wrappers: - analysis resolved an effective executable from wrapper-unwrapped argv, - execution could still run original wrapper argv semantics, - safe-bin short-flag handling also allowed unknown short options in clusters.

Remediation

The fix hardens exec approvals to fail closed and enforce analysis/runtime parity: - introduce wrapper execution planning with semantic-wrapper blocking, - carry planned effectiveArgv + policyBlocked metadata through resolution, - evaluate allowlist/safe-bins against planned argv, - enforce canonical rebuilt shell command from planned argv for allowlist auto-paths, - use planned argv for node-host/mac exec-host invocation paths, - reject unknown short safe-bin flags, - add regression tests for semantic env wrappers and parity fixtures.

Fix Commit(s)

  • a1c4bf07c6baad3ef87a0e710fe9aef127b1f606

Release Process Note

patched_versions is pre-set to the released version (2026.2.23). Patched in 2026.2.23 and published.

OpenClaw thanks @jiseoung for reporting.

Severity
5.7 (Medium)
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
References
To clipboard 

{
  "affected": [
    {
      "ecosystem_specific": {
        "fix": "bump",
        "range_state": "fixed",
        "upstream_fixed_in": "2026.2.23"
      },
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "Homebrew",
        "name": "openclaw-cli",
        "purl": "pkg:brew/openclaw-cli"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "2026.1.29"
            },
            {
              "fixed": "2026.2.23"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "confidence": "high",
    "source": "matched",
    "strategy": "registry",
    "upstream_evidence": [
      {
        "ecosystem": "npm",
        "key": "pkg:npm/openclaw@2026.10.3",
        "name": "openclaw",
        "strategy": "registry",
        "subject_version": "2026.10.3"
      }
    ]
  },
  "details": "### Summary\n`tools.exec` allowlist/safe-bins evaluation could diverge from runtime execution for wrapper commands using GNU `env -S/--split-string` semantics. This allowed policy checks to treat a command as a benign safe-bin invocation while runtime executed a different payload.\n\n### Affected Packages / Versions\n- Package: `openclaw` (npm)\n- Vulnerable versions: `\u003c= 2026.2.22-2` (latest currently published npm version)\n- Patched version (released): `2026.2.23`\n\n### Impact\nAn attacker able to influence tool command text (for example via untrusted prompt/content injection reaching an exec-capable flow) could bypass allowlist/safe-bins intent and execute unexpected commands.\n\n### Technical Details\nRoot cause was policy/runtime interpretation mismatch for dispatch wrappers:\n- analysis resolved an effective executable from wrapper-unwrapped argv,\n- execution could still run original wrapper argv semantics,\n- safe-bin short-flag handling also allowed unknown short options in clusters.\n\n### Remediation\nThe fix hardens exec approvals to fail closed and enforce analysis/runtime parity:\n- introduce wrapper execution planning with semantic-wrapper blocking,\n- carry planned `effectiveArgv` + `policyBlocked` metadata through resolution,\n- evaluate allowlist/safe-bins against planned argv,\n- enforce canonical rebuilt shell command from planned argv for allowlist auto-paths,\n- use planned argv for node-host/mac exec-host invocation paths,\n- reject unknown short safe-bin flags,\n- add regression tests for semantic `env` wrappers and parity fixtures.\n\n### Fix Commit(s)\n- `a1c4bf07c6baad3ef87a0e710fe9aef127b1f606`\n\n### Release Process Note\n`patched_versions` is pre-set to the released version (`2026.2.23`). Patched in `2026.2.23` and published.\n\nOpenClaw thanks @jiseoung for reporting.",
  "id": "BREW-openclaw-cli-GHSA-796m-2973-wc5q",
  "modified": "2026-10-15T09:00:14Z",
  "published": "2026-08-13T17:21:32Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-796m-2973-wc5q"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/a1c4bf07c6baad3ef87a0e710fe9aef127b1f606"
    },
    {
      "type": "PACKAGE",
      "url": "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.7.3",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N",
      "type": "CVSS_V4"
    }
  ],
  "summary": "OpenClaw has exec allowlist/safeBins policy-runtime mismatch via env -S wrapper interpretation",
  "upstream": [
    "GHSA-796m-2973-wc5q"
  ]
}



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