CVE-2026-27183

OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.3.7 contain a shell approval gating bypass vulnerability in system.run dispatch-wrapper handling that allows attackers to skip shell wrapper approval requirements. The approval classifier and execution planner apply different depth-boundary rules, permitting exactly four transparent dispatch wrappers like repeated env invocations before /bin/sh -c to bypass security=allowlist approval gating by misaligning classification with execution planning.

OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.3.7 contain a shell approval gating bypass vulnerability in system.run dispatch-wrapper handling that allows attackers to skip shell wrapper approval requirements. The approval classifier and execution planner apply different depth-boundary rules, permitting exactly four transparent dispatch wrappers like repeated env invocations before /bin/sh -c to bypass security=allowlist approval gating by misaligning classification with execution planning.

OpenClaw's system.run dispatch-wrapper handling applied different depth-boundary rules to shell-wrapper approval detection and execution planning.

With exactly four transparent dispatch wrappers such as repeated env invocations before /bin/sh -c, the approval classifier could stop treating the command as a shell wrapper at the depth boundary while execution planning still unwrapped through to the shell payload. In security=allowlist mode, that mismatch could skip the expected approval-required path for the shell wrapper invocation.

Latest published npm version: 2026.3.2

Fixed on main on March 7, 2026 in 2fc95a7cfc1eb9306356510b0251b6d51fb1c0b0 by keeping shell-wrapper classification active at the configured dispatch depth boundary and only failing closed beyond that boundary. This aligns approval gating with the execution plan. Legitimate shallow dispatch-wrapper usage continues to work.

Affected Packages / Versions

• Package: openclaw (npm)
• Affected versions: <= 2026.3.2
• Patched version: >= 2026.3.7

Fix Commit(s)

• 2fc95a7cfc1eb9306356510b0251b6d51fb1c0b0

Release Process Note

npm 2026.3.7 was published on March 8, 2026. This advisory is fixed in the released package.

Thanks @tdjackey for reporting.

OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.3.7 contain a shell approval gating bypass vulnerability in system.run dispatch-wrapper handling that allows attackers to skip shell wrapper approval requirements. The approval classifier and execution planner apply different depth-boundary rules, permitting exactly four transparent dispatch wrappers like repeated env invocations before /bin/sh -c to bypass security=allowlist approval gating by misaligning classification with execution planning.

OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.3.7 contain a shell approval gating bypass vulnerability in system.run dispatch-wrapper handling that allows attackers to skip shell wrapper approval requirements. The approval classifier and execution planner apply different depth-boundary rules, permitting exactly four transparent dispatch wrappers like repeated env invocations before /bin/sh -c to bypass security=allowlist approval gating by misaligning classification with execution planning.

OpenClaw's system.run dispatch-wrapper handling applied different depth-boundary rules to shell-wrapper approval detection and execution planning.

With exactly four transparent dispatch wrappers such as repeated env invocations before /bin/sh -c, the approval classifier could stop treating the command as a shell wrapper at the depth boundary while execution planning still unwrapped through to the shell payload. In security=allowlist mode, that mismatch could skip the expected approval-required path for the shell wrapper invocation.

Latest published npm version: 2026.3.2

Fixed on main on March 7, 2026 in 2fc95a7cfc1eb9306356510b0251b6d51fb1c0b0 by keeping shell-wrapper classification active at the configured dispatch depth boundary and only failing closed beyond that boundary. This aligns approval gating with the execution plan. Legitimate shallow dispatch-wrapper usage continues to work.

Affected Packages / Versions

• Package: openclaw (npm)
• Affected versions: <= 2026.3.2
• Patched version: >= 2026.3.7

Fix Commit(s)

• 2fc95a7cfc1eb9306356510b0251b6d51fb1c0b0

Release Process Note

npm 2026.3.7 was published on March 8, 2026. This advisory is fixed in the released package.

Thanks @tdjackey for reporting.