CVE-2026-32063

OpenClaw version 2026.2.19-2 prior to 2026.2.21 contains a command injection vulnerability in systemd unit file generation where attacker-controlled environment values are not validated for CR/LF characters, allowing newline injection to break out of Environment= lines and inject arbitrary systemd directives. An attacker who can influence config.env.vars and trigger service install or restart can execute arbitrary commands with the privileges of the OpenClaw gateway service user.

OpenClaw version 2026.2.19-2 prior to 2026.2.21 contains a command injection vulnerability in systemd unit file generation where attacker-controlled environment values are not validated for CR/LF characters, allowing newline injection to break out of Environment= lines and inject arbitrary systemd directives. An attacker who can influence config.env.vars and trigger service install or restart can execute arbitrary commands with the privileges of the OpenClaw gateway service user.

Summary

A command injection vulnerability exists in OpenClaw’s Linux systemd unit generation path. When rendering Environment= entries, attacker-controlled values are not rejected for CR/LF, and systemdEscapeArg() uses an incorrect whitespace-matching regex. This allows newline injection to break out of an Environment= line and inject standalone systemd directives (for example, ExecStartPre=). On service restart, the injected command is executed, resulting in local arbitrary command execution (local RCE) under the gateway service user.

Details

The issue is in src/daemon/systemd-unit.ts:

• renderEnvLines(...) builds:
• Environment=${systemdEscapeArg(${key}=${value})}
• No CR/LF validation is enforced for environment keys/values before writing unit lines.
• systemdEscapeArg(...) uses:
• /[\\s"\\\\]/
• In this regex, \\s is interpreted as a literal backslash + s, not a whitespace character class. As a result, whitespace detection/quoting behavior is incorrect. Because systemd parses unit files line-by-line, a newline inside an environment value can inject an additional directive line. Example rendered output:

Environment=INJECT=ok
ExecStartPre=/bin/touch /tmp/oc15789_rce

At restart time, systemd executes ExecStartPre, enabling command execution.

Relevant code path/components involved in exploitation chain:

• src/daemon/systemd-unit.ts
• src/commands/daemon-install-helpers.ts
• src/config/env-vars.ts
• src/config/zod-schema.ts

Trigger conditions:

1. Attacker can influence config.env.vars (directly or indirectly).
2. Install/reinstall path is invoked to write/update the unit.
3. Service restart occurs (systemctl --user restart ...).

PoC

Environment: Linux host with systemd user services enabled.

1. Configure a malicious environment value in OpenClaw config (config.env.vars), including a newline and injected directive:

• Key: INJECT
• Value:

ok
ExecStartPre=/bin/touch /tmp/oc15789_rce

2. Install/reinstall the gateway service (fixed port as requested):

openclaw gateway install --port 15789 --force

3. Inspect the generated user unit file (default path):

~/.config/systemd/user/openclaw-gateway.service

Verify that an injected standalone line exists:

ExecStartPre=/bin/touch /tmp/oc15789_rce

4. Reload and restart user service:

systemctl --user daemon-reload

systemctl --user restart openclaw-gateway.service

5. Confirm command execution side effect:

ls -l /tmp/oc15789_rce

Impact

This is a local command execution vulnerability in OpenClaw’s systemd unit generation during install/reinstall flows.

• Type: Command injection via newline/directive injection in unit file generation.
• Execution context: Runs with the same privileges as the OpenClaw gateway service user.
• Affected users: Linux deployments using systemd user services where an attacker can control config.env.vars and trigger install/reinstall.

Fix Commit(s)

• 61f646c41fb43cd87ed48f9125b4718a30d38e84

OpenClaw version 2026.2.19-2 prior to 2026.2.21 contains a command injection vulnerability in systemd unit file generation where attacker-controlled environment values are not validated for CR/LF characters, allowing newline injection to break out of Environment= lines and inject arbitrary systemd directives. An attacker who can influence config.env.vars and trigger service install or restart can execute arbitrary commands with the privileges of the OpenClaw gateway service user.

OpenClaw version 2026.2.19-2 prior to 2026.2.21 contains a command injection vulnerability in systemd unit file generation where attacker-controlled environment values are not validated for CR/LF characters, allowing newline injection to break out of Environment= lines and inject arbitrary systemd directives. An attacker who can influence config.env.vars and trigger service install or restart can execute arbitrary commands with the privileges of the OpenClaw gateway service user.

Summary

A command injection vulnerability exists in OpenClaw’s Linux systemd unit generation path. When rendering Environment= entries, attacker-controlled values are not rejected for CR/LF, and systemdEscapeArg() uses an incorrect whitespace-matching regex. This allows newline injection to break out of an Environment= line and inject standalone systemd directives (for example, ExecStartPre=). On service restart, the injected command is executed, resulting in local arbitrary command execution (local RCE) under the gateway service user.

Details

The issue is in src/daemon/systemd-unit.ts:

• renderEnvLines(...) builds:
• Environment=${systemdEscapeArg(${key}=${value})}
• No CR/LF validation is enforced for environment keys/values before writing unit lines.
• systemdEscapeArg(...) uses:
• /[\\s"\\\\]/
• In this regex, \\s is interpreted as a literal backslash + s, not a whitespace character class. As a result, whitespace detection/quoting behavior is incorrect. Because systemd parses unit files line-by-line, a newline inside an environment value can inject an additional directive line. Example rendered output:

Environment=INJECT=ok
ExecStartPre=/bin/touch /tmp/oc15789_rce

At restart time, systemd executes ExecStartPre, enabling command execution.

Relevant code path/components involved in exploitation chain:

• src/daemon/systemd-unit.ts
• src/commands/daemon-install-helpers.ts
• src/config/env-vars.ts
• src/config/zod-schema.ts

Trigger conditions:

1. Attacker can influence config.env.vars (directly or indirectly).
2. Install/reinstall path is invoked to write/update the unit.
3. Service restart occurs (systemctl --user restart ...).

PoC

Environment: Linux host with systemd user services enabled.

1. Configure a malicious environment value in OpenClaw config (config.env.vars), including a newline and injected directive:

• Key: INJECT
• Value:

ok
ExecStartPre=/bin/touch /tmp/oc15789_rce

2. Install/reinstall the gateway service (fixed port as requested):

openclaw gateway install --port 15789 --force

3. Inspect the generated user unit file (default path):

~/.config/systemd/user/openclaw-gateway.service

Verify that an injected standalone line exists:

ExecStartPre=/bin/touch /tmp/oc15789_rce

4. Reload and restart user service:

systemctl --user daemon-reload

systemctl --user restart openclaw-gateway.service

5. Confirm command execution side effect:

ls -l /tmp/oc15789_rce

Impact

This is a local command execution vulnerability in OpenClaw’s systemd unit generation during install/reinstall flows.

• Type: Command injection via newline/directive injection in unit file generation.
• Execution context: Runs with the same privileges as the OpenClaw gateway service user.
• Affected users: Linux deployments using systemd user services where an attacker can control config.env.vars and trigger install/reinstall.

Fix Commit(s)

• 61f646c41fb43cd87ed48f9125b4718a30d38e84