CVE-2026-32971
OpenClaw < 2026.3.11 - Node-Host Approval UI Mismatch Allows Execution of Unintended Commands
OpenClaw before 2026.3.11 contains an approval-integrity vulnerability in node-host system.run approvals that displays extracted shell payloads instead of the executed argv. Attackers can place wrapper binaries and induce wrapper-shaped commands to execute local code after operators approve misleading command text.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- Active
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
OpenClaw < 2026.3.11 - Node-Host Approval UI Mismatch Allows Execution of Unintended Commands
OpenClaw before 2026.3.11 contains an approval-integrity vulnerability in node-host system.run approvals that displays extracted shell payloads instead of the executed argv. Attackers can place wrapper binaries and induce wrapper-shaped commands to execute local code after operators approve misleading command text.
- Record
CVE-2026-32971- CVSS 4.0
- 7.3 High
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:N/PR:L/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N - CVSS 3.1
- 7.1 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-451
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2026-17379
OpenClaw before 2026.3.11 contains an approval-integrity vulnerability in node-host system.run approvals that displays extracted shell payloads instead of the executed argv. Attackers can place wrapper binaries and induce wrapper-shaped commands to execute local code after operators approve misleading command text.
- Record
EUVD-2026-17379- CVSS 4.0
- 7.3 High
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:N/PR:L/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-rw39-5899-8mxp
OpenClaw: Node-host approvals could show misleading shell payloads instead of the executed argv
Summary
In affected versions of openclaw, node-host system.run approvals could display only an extracted shell payload such as jq --version while execution still ran a different outer wrapper argv such as ./env sh -c 'jq --version'.
Impact
This is an approval-integrity bug. An attacker who could place or select a local wrapper binary and induce a wrapper-shaped command could get local code executed after the operator approved misleading command text.
Affected Packages and Versions
- Package:
openclaw(npm) - Affected versions:
<= 2026.3.8 - Fixed in:
2026.3.11
Technical Details
Wrapper resolution normalized executables by basename and extracted inner shell payload text for approval display, while execution still preserved the full wrapper argv. Approval storage and UI therefore showed text that did not match the exact command OpenClaw would execute.
Fix
OpenClaw now binds approvals to the exact executed argv and keeps extracted shell payload text only as secondary preview data. The fix shipped in [email protected].
Workarounds
Upgrade to 2026.3.11 or later.
- Record
GHSA-rw39-5899-8mxp- CVSS 3.1
- 7.1 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-436, CWE-863
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
OpenClaw before 2026.3.11 contains an approval-integrity vulnerability in node-host system.run approvals that displays extracted shell payloads instead of the executed argv. Attackers can place wrapper binaries and induce wrapper-shaped commands to execute local code after operators approve misleading command text.
- Record
CVE-2026-32971- CVSS 4.0
- 7.3 High
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:N/PR:L/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X - CVSS 3.1
- 7.1 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 3.1
- 8.0 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-451
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
OpenClaw < 2026.3.11 - Node-Host Approval UI Mismatch Allows Execution of Unintended Commands
OpenClaw before 2026.3.11 contains an approval-integrity vulnerability in node-host system.run approvals that displays extracted shell payloads instead of the executed argv. Attackers can place wrapper binaries and induce wrapper-shaped commands to execute local code after operators approve misleading command text.
- Record
CVE-2026-32971- CVSS 4.0
- 7.3 High
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:N/PR:L/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N - Weakness
- CWE-451
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-rw39-5899-8mxp
OpenClaw: Node-host approvals could show misleading shell payloads instead of the executed argv
Summary
In affected versions of openclaw, node-host system.run approvals could display only an extracted shell payload such as jq --version while execution still ran a different outer wrapper argv such as ./env sh -c 'jq --version'.
Impact
This is an approval-integrity bug. An attacker who could place or select a local wrapper binary and induce a wrapper-shaped command could get local code executed after the operator approved misleading command text.
Affected Packages and Versions
- Package:
openclaw(npm) - Affected versions:
<= 2026.3.8 - Fixed in:
2026.3.11
Technical Details
Wrapper resolution normalized executables by basename and extracted inner shell payload text for approval display, while execution still preserved the full wrapper argv. Approval storage and UI therefore showed text that did not match the exact command OpenClaw would execute.
Fix
OpenClaw now binds approvals to the exact executed argv and keeps extracted shell payload text only as secondary preview data. The fix shipped in [email protected].
Workarounds
Upgrade to 2026.3.11 or later.
- Record
GHSA-rw39-5899-8mxp- CVSS 3.1
- 7.1 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-436, CWE-863
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
openclawnpm |
before 2026.3.11 | 2026.3.11 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| first indexed | CVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2026-32971 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.3) in Openclaw, published March 13, 2026. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.28%, the 20th percentile. Fixed in openclaw 2026.3.11.
References
github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-rw39-5899-8mxp
vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-node-host-approval-ui-mismatch-allows-execution-of-unintended-commands
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-32971