CVE-2026-41404
OpenClaw < 2026.3.31 - Operator Admin Privilege Escalation via Trusted-Proxy Authentication
OpenClaw before 2026.3.31 contains an incomplete scope-clearing vulnerability in trusted-proxy authentication mode that allows operator.admin privilege escalation. Attackers can exploit this by declaring operator scopes on non-Control-UI clients, allowing self-declared scopes to persist on identity-bearing authentication paths and escalate privileges.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
OpenClaw < 2026.3.31 - Operator Admin Privilege Escalation via Trusted-Proxy Authentication
OpenClaw before 2026.3.31 contains an incomplete scope-clearing vulnerability in trusted-proxy authentication mode that allows operator.admin privilege escalation. Attackers can exploit this by declaring operator scopes on non-Control-UI clients, allowing self-declared scopes to persist on identity-bearing authentication paths and escalate privileges.
- Record
CVE-2026-41404- CVSS 4.0
- 7.7 High
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N - CVSS 3.1
- 8.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-863
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2026-26111
OpenClaw before 2026.3.31 contains an incomplete scope-clearing vulnerability in trusted-proxy authentication mode that allows operator.admin privilege escalation. Attackers can exploit this by declaring operator scopes on non-Control-UI clients, allowing self-declared scopes to persist on identity-bearing authentication paths and escalate privileges.
- Record
EUVD-2026-26111- CVSS 4.0
- 7.7 High
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-g374-mggx-p6xc
OpenClaw: Incomplete scope-clearing fix allows operator.admin escalation via trusted-proxy auth mode
Summary
Incomplete scope-clearing fix allows operator.admin escalation via trusted-proxy auth mode
Current Maintainer Triage
- Normalized severity: high
- Assessment: v2026.3.28 still misses trusted-proxy scope clearing for non-Control-UI clients, so self-declared operator scopes can survive on a real identity-bearing auth path; the complete fix is unreleased.
Affected Packages / Versions
- Package:
openclaw(npm) - Latest published npm version:
2026.3.31 - Vulnerable version range:
<=2026.3.28 - Patched versions:
>= 2026.3.31 - First stable tag containing the fix:
v2026.3.31
Fix Commit(s)
8b88b927cb0747ad24d95b07d35682bf85dc5b0e— 2026-03-30T14:19:00+01:00
OpenClaw thanks @north-echo for reporting.
- Record
GHSA-g374-mggx-p6xc- CVSS 4.0
- 8.6 High
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N - Weakness
- CWE-863
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
OpenClaw before 2026.3.31 contains an incomplete scope-clearing vulnerability in trusted-proxy authentication mode that allows operator.admin privilege escalation. Attackers can exploit this by declaring operator scopes on non-Control-UI clients, allowing self-declared scopes to persist on identity-bearing authentication paths and escalate privileges.
- Record
CVE-2026-41404- CVSS 4.0
- 7.7 High
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/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
- 8.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-863
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
OpenClaw < 2026.3.31 - Operator Admin Privilege Escalation via Trusted-Proxy Authentication
OpenClaw before 2026.3.31 contains an incomplete scope-clearing vulnerability in trusted-proxy authentication mode that allows operator.admin privilege escalation. Attackers can exploit this by declaring operator scopes on non-Control-UI clients, allowing self-declared scopes to persist on identity-bearing authentication paths and escalate privileges.
- Record
CVE-2026-41404- CVSS 4.0
- 7.7 High
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N - Weakness
- CWE-863
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-g374-mggx-p6xc
OpenClaw: Incomplete scope-clearing fix allows operator.admin escalation via trusted-proxy auth mode
Summary
Incomplete scope-clearing fix allows operator.admin escalation via trusted-proxy auth mode
Current Maintainer Triage
- Normalized severity: high
- Assessment: v2026.3.28 still misses trusted-proxy scope clearing for non-Control-UI clients, so self-declared operator scopes can survive on a real identity-bearing auth path; the complete fix is unreleased.
Affected Packages / Versions
- Package:
openclaw(npm) - Latest published npm version:
2026.3.31 - Vulnerable version range:
<=2026.3.28 - Patched versions:
>= 2026.3.31 - First stable tag containing the fix:
v2026.3.31
Fix Commit(s)
8b88b927cb0747ad24d95b07d35682bf85dc5b0e— 2026-03-30T14:19:00+01:00
OpenClaw thanks @north-echo for reporting.
- Record
GHSA-g374-mggx-p6xc- CVSS 4.0
- 8.6 High
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N - Weakness
- CWE-863
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
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-2026-41404 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.7) in Openclaw, published April 3, 2026. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.34%, the 27th percentile. Fixed in openclaw 2026.3.31.
References
github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-g374-mggx-p6xc
vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-operator-admin-privilege-escalation-via-trusted-proxy-authentication
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-41404