CVE-2026-27545

OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.2.26 contain an approval bypass vulnerability in system.run execution that allows attackers to execute commands from unintended filesystem locations by rebinding writable parent symlinks in the current working directory after approval. An attacker can modify mutable parent symlink path components between approval and execution time to redirect command execution to a different location while preserving the visible working directory string.

OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.2.26 contain an approval bypass vulnerability in system.run execution that allows attackers to execute commands from unintended filesystem locations by rebinding writable parent symlinks in the current working directory after approval. An attacker can modify mutable parent symlink path components between approval and execution time to redirect command execution to a different location while preserving the visible working directory string.

Summary

For host=node executions, approval context could be bypassed after approval-time by rebinding a writable parent symlink in cwd while preserving the visible cwd string.

Affected Packages / Versions

• Package: openclaw (npm)
• Affected: <= 2026.2.25
• Fixed: >= 2026.2.26 (planned next npm release)

Impact

A command approved for one filesystem location could execute from a different location if a mutable parent symlink changed between approval and execution.

Fix

• Added immutable approval-time plan preparation (system.run.prepare) and systemRunPlanV2 canonical fields (argv, cwd, agentId, sessionKey).
• Enforced canonical plan values through approval request storage and forwarding-time sanitization.
• Rejected mutable parent-symlink path components during approval-plan building to block symlink rebind bypass.
• Follow-up refactors centralized command catalogs and approval context/error handling to reduce future drift.

Fix Commit(s)

• 78a7ff2d50fb3bcef351571cb5a0f21430a340c1
• d82c042b09727a6148f3ca651b254c4a677aff26
• d06632ba45a8482192792c55d5ff0b2e21abb0a7
• 4e690e09c746408b5e27617a20cb3fdc5190dbda
• 4b4718c8dfce2e2c48404aa5088af7c013bed60b

Release Process Note

patched_versions is pre-set to the planned next release (2026.2.26). Once npm [email protected] is published, publish this advisory directly without further version-field edits.

OpenClaw thanks @tdjackey for reporting.

OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.2.26 contain an approval bypass vulnerability in system.run execution that allows attackers to execute commands from unintended filesystem locations by rebinding writable parent symlinks in the current working directory after approval. An attacker can modify mutable parent symlink path components between approval and execution time to redirect command execution to a different location while preserving the visible working directory string.

OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.2.26 contain an approval bypass vulnerability in system.run execution that allows attackers to execute commands from unintended filesystem locations by rebinding writable parent symlinks in the current working directory after approval. An attacker can modify mutable parent symlink path components between approval and execution time to redirect command execution to a different location while preserving the visible working directory string.

Summary

For host=node executions, approval context could be bypassed after approval-time by rebinding a writable parent symlink in cwd while preserving the visible cwd string.

Affected Packages / Versions

• Package: openclaw (npm)
• Affected: <= 2026.2.25
• Fixed: >= 2026.2.26 (planned next npm release)

Impact

A command approved for one filesystem location could execute from a different location if a mutable parent symlink changed between approval and execution.

Fix

• Added immutable approval-time plan preparation (system.run.prepare) and systemRunPlanV2 canonical fields (argv, cwd, agentId, sessionKey).
• Enforced canonical plan values through approval request storage and forwarding-time sanitization.
• Rejected mutable parent-symlink path components during approval-plan building to block symlink rebind bypass.
• Follow-up refactors centralized command catalogs and approval context/error handling to reduce future drift.

Fix Commit(s)

• 78a7ff2d50fb3bcef351571cb5a0f21430a340c1
• d82c042b09727a6148f3ca651b254c4a677aff26
• d06632ba45a8482192792c55d5ff0b2e21abb0a7
• 4e690e09c746408b5e27617a20cb3fdc5190dbda
• 4b4718c8dfce2e2c48404aa5088af7c013bed60b

Release Process Note

patched_versions is pre-set to the planned next release (2026.2.26). Once npm [email protected] is published, publish this advisory directly without further version-field edits.

OpenClaw thanks @tdjackey for reporting.