CVE-2026-44998
OpenClaw < 2026.4.20 - Tool Policy Bypass via Bundled MCP/LSP Tools
OpenClaw before 2026.4.20 contains a tool policy bypass vulnerability allowing bundled MCP and LSP tools to circumvent configured tool restrictions. Attackers with local agent access can append restricted tools to the effective tool set after policy filtering, bypassing profile policies, allow/deny lists, owner-only restrictions, sandbox policies, and subagent policies.
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
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
OpenClaw < 2026.4.20 - Tool Policy Bypass via Bundled MCP/LSP Tools
OpenClaw before 2026.4.20 contains a tool policy bypass vulnerability allowing bundled MCP and LSP tools to circumvent configured tool restrictions. Attackers with local agent access can append restricted tools to the effective tool set after policy filtering, bypassing profile policies, allow/deny lists, owner-only restrictions, sandbox policies, and subagent policies.
- Record
CVE-2026-44998- CVSS 4.0
- 2.3 Low
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N - CVSS 3.1
- 5.4 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-863
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2026-29143
OpenClaw before 2026.4.20 contains a tool policy bypass vulnerability allowing bundled MCP and LSP tools to circumvent configured tool restrictions. Attackers with local agent access can append restricted tools to the effective tool set after policy filtering, bypassing profile policies, allow/deny lists, owner-only restrictions, sandbox policies, and subagent policies.
- Record
EUVD-2026-29143- CVSS 4.0
- 2.3 Low
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-fr55-95rr-vm5x
OpenClaw before 2026.4.20 contains a tool policy bypass vulnerability allowing bundled MCP and...
OpenClaw before 2026.4.20 contains a tool policy bypass vulnerability allowing bundled MCP and LSP tools to circumvent configured tool restrictions. Attackers with local agent access can append restricted tools to the effective tool set after policy filtering, bypassing profile policies, allow/deny lists, owner-only restrictions, sandbox policies, and subagent policies.
- Record
GHSA-fr55-95rr-vm5x- CVSS 4.0
- 2.3 Low
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:N/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
- 5.4 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-863
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-qrp5-gfw2-gxv4
OpenClaw: Bundled MCP/LSP tools could bypass configured tool policy
Affected Packages / Versions
- Package:
openclaw(npm) - Affected versions:
< 2026.4.20 - Patched version:
2026.4.20
Impact
Bundled MCP and LSP tools could be appended to the agent's effective tool set after the normal tool-policy pipeline had already filtered core tools. If an operator configured a restrictive policy, such as a tool profile, explicit allow/deny list, owner-only tool restriction, sandbox tool policy, or subagent tool policy, a bundled MCP/LSP tool could remain available even though the same policy would have denied it.
The issue required a configured bundled MCP or LSP tool source and an operator policy that should have restricted that tool. This was a local agent policy-enforcement bypass, not an unauthenticated remote gateway compromise. Severity is medium.
Fix
OpenClaw now applies a final effective tool policy pass to bundled MCP/LSP tools before merging them into the tool set used by normal runs and compaction. The pass covers profile policy, provider profile policy, global/agent/group policies, owner-only filtering, sandbox tool policy, and subagent tool policy.
Fix commit:
0e7a992d3f3155199c1acc2dd9a53c5b3a4d3ada
Release
Fixed in OpenClaw 2026.4.20.
- Record
GHSA-qrp5-gfw2-gxv4- CVSS 4.0
- 4.8 Medium
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:N/SC:L/SI:L/SA:N - Weakness
- CWE-862
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
OpenClaw before 2026.4.20 contains a tool policy bypass vulnerability allowing bundled MCP and LSP tools to circumvent configured tool restrictions. Attackers with local agent access can append restricted tools to the effective tool set after policy filtering, bypassing profile policies, allow/deny lists, owner-only restrictions, sandbox policies, and subagent policies.
- Record
CVE-2026-44998- CVSS 4.0
- 2.3 Low
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:N/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
- 5.4 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-863
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
OpenClaw < 2026.4.20 - Tool Policy Bypass via Bundled MCP/LSP Tools
OpenClaw before 2026.4.20 contains a tool policy bypass vulnerability allowing bundled MCP and LSP tools to circumvent configured tool restrictions. Attackers with local agent access can append restricted tools to the effective tool set after policy filtering, bypassing profile policies, allow/deny lists, owner-only restrictions, sandbox policies, and subagent policies.
- Record
CVE-2026-44998- CVSS 4.0
- 2.3 Low
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N - Weakness
- CWE-863
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-qrp5-gfw2-gxv4
OpenClaw: Bundled MCP/LSP tools could bypass configured tool policy
Affected Packages / Versions
- Package:
openclaw(npm) - Affected versions:
< 2026.4.20 - Patched version:
2026.4.20
Impact
Bundled MCP and LSP tools could be appended to the agent's effective tool set after the normal tool-policy pipeline had already filtered core tools. If an operator configured a restrictive policy, such as a tool profile, explicit allow/deny list, owner-only tool restriction, sandbox tool policy, or subagent tool policy, a bundled MCP/LSP tool could remain available even though the same policy would have denied it.
The issue required a configured bundled MCP or LSP tool source and an operator policy that should have restricted that tool. This was a local agent policy-enforcement bypass, not an unauthenticated remote gateway compromise. Severity is medium.
Fix
OpenClaw now applies a final effective tool policy pass to bundled MCP/LSP tools before merging them into the tool set used by normal runs and compaction. The pass covers profile policy, provider profile policy, global/agent/group policies, owner-only filtering, sandbox tool policy, and subagent tool policy.
Fix commit:
0e7a992d3f3155199c1acc2dd9a53c5b3a4d3ada
Release
Fixed in OpenClaw 2026.4.20.
- Record
GHSA-qrp5-gfw2-gxv4- CVSS 4.0
- 4.8 Medium
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:N/SC:L/SI:L/SA:N - Weakness
- CWE-862
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
openclawnpm |
before 2026.4.20 | 2026.4.20 |
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-2026-44998 is a low vulnerability (CVSS 2.3) in Openclaw, published April 25, 2026. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.71%, the 53rd percentile. Fixed in openclaw 2026.4.20.
References
github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-qrp5-gfw2-gxv4
vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-tool-policy-bypass-via-bundled-mcp-lsp-tools
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-44998