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GHSA-GQ83-8Q7Q-9HFX: GHSA-GQ83-8Q7Q-9HFX: Race Condition in OpenClaw Sandbox Registry Leads to Data Corruption

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GHSA-GQ83-8Q7Q-9HFX: Race Condition in OpenClaw Sandbox Registry Leads to Data Corruption

Vulnerability ID: GHSA-GQ83-8Q7Q-9HFX
CVSS Score: 6.6
Published: 2026-03-03

OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.2.18 contain a critical race condition in the sandbox registry management system. The vulnerability arises from insecure file handling operations during read-modify-write cycles of the containers.json and browsers.json registry files. Concurrent attempts to update or remove registry entries can result in lost updates, state desynchronization, or complete truncation of the registry data. This flaw leads to orphaned containers and resource leaks in high-concurrency environments.

TL;DR

A race condition in OpenClaw's registry file handling allows concurrent writes to corrupt or wipe sandbox tracking data. Patched in 2026.2.18 via file locking and atomic writes.

⚠️ Exploit Status: POC

Technical Details

  • CWE ID: CWE-362 (Race Condition)
  • Related CWE: CWE-367 (TOCTOU)
  • CVSS Score: 6.6 (Medium)
  • Attack Vector: Network
  • Integrity Impact: High
  • Availability Impact: Low
  • Patch Date: 2026-02-18

Affected Systems

  • OpenClaw AI Framework
  • OpenClaw: < 2026.2.18 (Fixed in: 2026.2.18)

Code Analysis

Commit: cc29be8

Fix: serialize sandbox registry writes to prevent races and delete-rollback corruption

Mitigation Strategies

  • Update OpenClaw to version 2026.2.18 or later.
  • Implement file locking mechanisms for all registry I/O if forking the project.
  • Reduce concurrency of agent operations if patching is not immediately feasible.

Remediation Steps:

  1. Stop all running OpenClaw agent instances.
  2. Pull the latest version of the repository or update the package dependency to 2026.2.18.
  3. Verify that node_modules are updated to reflect the new locking dependencies.
  4. Restart the OpenClaw service.
  5. Run sandbox list to verify registry integrity. If corruption previously occurred, manual cleanup of orphaned Docker containers may be required using docker ps and docker rm.

References

Read the full report for GHSA-GQ83-8Q7Q-9HFX on our website for more details including interactive diagrams and full exploit analysis.

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