CVE-2026-34426

OpenClaw versions prior to commit b57b680 contain an approval bypass vulnerability due to inconsistent environment variable normalization between approval and execution paths, allowing attackers to inject attacker-controlled environment variables into execution without approval system validation. Attackers can exploit differing normalization logic to discard non-portable keys during approval processing while accepting them at execution time, bypassing operator review and potentially influencing runtime behavior including execution of attacker-controlled binaries.

OpenClaw versions prior to commit b57b680 contain an approval bypass vulnerability due to inconsistent environment variable normalization between approval and execution paths, allowing attackers to inject attacker-controlled environment variables into execution without approval system validation. Attackers can exploit differing normalization logic to discard non-portable keys during approval processing while accepting them at execution time, bypassing operator review and potentially influencing runtime behavior including execution of attacker-controlled binaries.

Summary

Before OpenClaw 2026.4.2, system-run approval binding normalized environment override keys differently from host execution. Windows-compatible keys could be omitted from the approval binding while still being injected at execution time.

Impact

An approved command could run with attacker-chosen environment overrides that were not represented in the approval binding. This created an approval-integrity gap for affected host-exec flows.

Affected Packages / Versions

• Package: openclaw (npm)
• Affected versions: <= 2026.4.1
• Patched versions: >= 2026.4.2
• Latest published npm version: 2026.4.1

Fix Commit(s)

• 7eb094a00d80e9f6bf0e62f2c45d3b88ff67c04d — align approval binding with execution-time env-key normalization

Release Process Note

The fix is present on main and is staged for OpenClaw 2026.4.2. Publish this advisory after the 2026.4.2 npm release is live.

Thanks @iskindar for reporting, and thanks @wsparks-vc for coordination.

Summary

Windows local-media handling accepted remote-host file URLs and UNC-style paths before local-path validation, so network-hosted file targets could be treated as local content.

Affected Packages / Versions

• Package: openclaw (npm)
• Affected: < 2026.3.22
• Fixed: >= 2026.3.22
• Latest released tag checked: v2026.3.23-2 (630f1479c44f78484dfa21bb407cbe6f171dac87)
• Latest published npm version checked: 2026.3.23-2

Fix Commit(s)

• 4fd7feb0fd4ec16c48ed983980dba79a09b3aaf5
• 93880717f1cd34feaa45e74e939b7a5256288901

Release Status

The fix shipped in v2026.3.22 and remains present in v2026.3.23 and v2026.3.23-2.

Code-Level Confirmation

• src/infra/local-file-access.ts now rejects remote-host file: URLs and UNC/network paths as non-local input.
• src/media/web-media.ts, src/media-understanding/attachments.normalize.ts, and src/agents/sandbox-paths.ts all route through the shared local-file guard.

OpenClaw thanks @RacerZ-fighting, @Fushuling for reporting.

OpenClaw versions prior to commit b57b680 contain an approval bypass vulnerability due to inconsistent environment variable normalization between approval and execution paths, allowing attackers to inject attacker-controlled environment variables into execution without approval system validation. Attackers can exploit differing normalization logic to discard non-portable keys during approval processing while accepting them at execution time, bypassing operator review and potentially influencing runtime behavior including execution of attacker-controlled binaries.

OpenClaw versions prior to commit b57b680 contain an approval bypass vulnerability due to inconsistent environment variable normalization between approval and execution paths, allowing attackers to inject attacker-controlled environment variables into execution without approval system validation. Attackers can exploit differing normalization logic to discard non-portable keys during approval processing while accepting them at execution time, bypassing operator review and potentially influencing runtime behavior including execution of attacker-controlled binaries.

OpenClaw before 2026.3.22 contains a path traversal vulnerability in Windows media loaders that accepts remote-host file URLs and UNC-style paths before local-path validation. Attackers can exploit this by providing network-hosted file targets that are treated as local content, bypassing intended access restrictions.

Summary

Before OpenClaw 2026.4.2, system-run approval binding normalized environment override keys differently from host execution. Windows-compatible keys could be omitted from the approval binding while still being injected at execution time.

Impact

An approved command could run with attacker-chosen environment overrides that were not represented in the approval binding. This created an approval-integrity gap for affected host-exec flows.

Affected Packages / Versions

• Package: openclaw (npm)
• Affected versions: <= 2026.4.1
• Patched versions: >= 2026.4.2
• Latest published npm version: 2026.4.1

Fix Commit(s)

• 7eb094a00d80e9f6bf0e62f2c45d3b88ff67c04d — align approval binding with execution-time env-key normalization

Release Process Note

The fix is present on main and is staged for OpenClaw 2026.4.2. Publish this advisory after the 2026.4.2 npm release is live.

Thanks @iskindar for reporting, and thanks @wsparks-vc for coordination.

Summary

Windows local-media handling accepted remote-host file URLs and UNC-style paths before local-path validation, so network-hosted file targets could be treated as local content.

Affected Packages / Versions

• Package: openclaw (npm)
• Affected: < 2026.3.22
• Fixed: >= 2026.3.22
• Latest released tag checked: v2026.3.23-2 (630f1479c44f78484dfa21bb407cbe6f171dac87)
• Latest published npm version checked: 2026.3.23-2

Fix Commit(s)

• 4fd7feb0fd4ec16c48ed983980dba79a09b3aaf5
• 93880717f1cd34feaa45e74e939b7a5256288901

Release Status

The fix shipped in v2026.3.22 and remains present in v2026.3.23 and v2026.3.23-2.

Code-Level Confirmation

• src/infra/local-file-access.ts now rejects remote-host file: URLs and UNC/network paths as non-local input.
• src/media/web-media.ts, src/media-understanding/attachments.normalize.ts, and src/agents/sandbox-paths.ts all route through the shared local-file guard.

OpenClaw thanks @RacerZ-fighting, @Fushuling for reporting.