GHSA-R6QF-8968-WJ9Q: Security Gating Bypass via Off-By-One Logic Error in OpenClaw system.run
Vulnerability ID: GHSA-R6QF-8968-WJ9Q
CVSS Score: Moderate
Published: 2026-03-09
An off-by-one boundary condition in the OpenClaw system.run command dispatcher permits attackers to bypass mandatory shell approval prompts in security=allowlist mode.
TL;DR
A logic error in OpenClaw's command unwrapping mechanism allows attackers to bypass security gating by nesting exactly four command wrappers, leading to unapproved shell command execution.
⚠️ Exploit Status: POC
Technical Details
- CWE ID: CWE-193: Off-by-one Error
- Attack Vector: Network / Authenticated Interface
- Impact: Security Gating Bypass / Unauthorized Command Execution
- Exploit Status: Proof of Concept Available
- Affected Component: src/infra/exec-wrapper-resolution.ts
- CVSS Severity: Moderate
Affected Systems
- OpenClaw system.run command dispatcher
- OpenClaw security=allowlist gating module
-
OpenClaw: < 2026.3.7 (Fixed in:
2026.3.7)
Code Analysis
Commit: 2fc95a7
Fix off-by-one error in exec-wrapper-resolution boundary check
- if (depth >= MAX_DISPATCH_WRAPPER_DEPTH) {
+ if (depth > MAX_DISPATCH_WRAPPER_DEPTH) {
Exploit Details
- GitHub Advisory Report: Proof of concept utilizing 4 nested env wrappers to bypass allowlist gating.
Mitigation Strategies
- Update OpenClaw to version 2026.3.7 or later.
- Restrict network or credentialed access to the system.run command dispatcher interface.
- Monitor system process execution logs for deeply nested shell wrapper calls.
Remediation Steps:
- Verify the currently installed version of OpenClaw.
- Download version 2026.3.7 from the official repository.
- Deploy the updated binaries or containers to the production environment.
- Restart the OpenClaw service to ensure the patched execution logic is loaded.
- Execute a test payload with nested wrappers to confirm the ask=on-miss prompt triggers correctly.
References
Read the full report for GHSA-R6QF-8968-WJ9Q on our website for more details including interactive diagrams and full exploit analysis.
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