CVE-2026-53821
OpenClaw < 2026.5.18 - Scope Elevation in trusted-proxy Control UI WebSocket
OpenClaw before 2026.5.18 accepts WebSocket client-declared operator scopes before binding to server-approved pairing or trusted-proxy authorization baseline. Unpaired or restricted trusted-proxy Control UI clients can obtain cached operator.admin authority on live WebSocket connections to execute admin-gated Gateway RPCs.
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 < 2026.5.18 - Scope Elevation in trusted-proxy Control UI WebSocket
OpenClaw before 2026.5.18 accepts WebSocket client-declared operator scopes before binding to server-approved pairing or trusted-proxy authorization baseline. Unpaired or restricted trusted-proxy Control UI clients can obtain cached operator.admin authority on live WebSocket connections to execute admin-gated Gateway RPCs.
- Record
CVE-2026-53821- CVSS 4.0
- 8.7 High
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/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-862
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2026-36609
OpenClaw before 2026.5.18 accepts WebSocket client-declared operator scopes before binding to server-approved pairing or trusted-proxy authorization baseline. Unpaired or restricted trusted-proxy Control UI clients can obtain cached operator.admin authority on live WebSocket connections to execute admin-gated Gateway RPCs.
- Record
EUVD-2026-36609- CVSS 4.0
- 8.7 High
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-qjpc-qf9m-xwmr
OpenClaw: Trusted-proxy Control UI WebSocket accepted client-declared scopes before pairing
Summary
In trusted-proxy Control UI mode, OpenClaw accepted a WebSocket client's declared operator scopes before those scopes were bound to a server-approved pairing or trusted-proxy authorization baseline.
This issue affects trusted-proxy Control UI deployments. It does not apply to shared-secret Control UI sessions, which are treated as trusted operator sessions by design.
Affected configurations
This affects deployments using gateway.auth.mode: "trusted-proxy" for Control UI access where a restricted trusted-proxy user could open a Control UI WebSocket and present a fresh, unpaired device identity with elevated requested scopes.
Impact
An unpaired or restricted trusted-proxy Control UI client could obtain cached operator.admin authority on its live WebSocket connection. That authority could then be used for admin-gated Gateway RPCs until the connection was closed or revalidated.
Patched Versions
The first stable patched version is 2026.5.18.
Mitigations
Upgrade to [email protected] or later. Before upgrading, restrict trusted-proxy Control UI access to users who should have the scopes they can request, and restart the gateway after changing trusted-proxy authorization policy.
- Record
GHSA-qjpc-qf9m-xwmr- 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-862, CWE-863
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-vcg8-6gf2-cg9j
OpenClaw before 2026.5.18 accepts WebSocket client-declared operator scopes before binding to...
OpenClaw before 2026.5.18 accepts WebSocket client-declared operator scopes before binding to server-approved pairing or trusted-proxy authorization baseline. Unpaired or restricted trusted-proxy Control UI clients can obtain cached operator.admin authority on live WebSocket connections to execute admin-gated Gateway RPCs.
- Record
GHSA-vcg8-6gf2-cg9j- CVSS 4.0
- 8.7 High
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/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-862
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
OpenClaw before 2026.5.18 accepts WebSocket client-declared operator scopes before binding to server-approved pairing or trusted-proxy authorization baseline. Unpaired or restricted trusted-proxy Control UI clients can obtain cached operator.admin authority on live WebSocket connections to execute admin-gated Gateway RPCs.
- Record
CVE-2026-53821- CVSS 4.0
- 8.7 High
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/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-862
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
OpenClaw < 2026.5.18 - Scope Elevation in trusted-proxy Control UI WebSocket
OpenClaw before 2026.5.18 accepts WebSocket client-declared operator scopes before binding to server-approved pairing or trusted-proxy authorization baseline. Unpaired or restricted trusted-proxy Control UI clients can obtain cached operator.admin authority on live WebSocket connections to execute admin-gated Gateway RPCs.
- Record
CVE-2026-53821- CVSS 4.0
- 8.7 High
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N - Weakness
- CWE-862
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-qjpc-qf9m-xwmr
OpenClaw: Trusted-proxy Control UI WebSocket accepted client-declared scopes before pairing
Summary
In trusted-proxy Control UI mode, OpenClaw accepted a WebSocket client's declared operator scopes before those scopes were bound to a server-approved pairing or trusted-proxy authorization baseline.
This issue affects trusted-proxy Control UI deployments. It does not apply to shared-secret Control UI sessions, which are treated as trusted operator sessions by design.
Affected configurations
This affects deployments using gateway.auth.mode: "trusted-proxy" for Control UI access where a restricted trusted-proxy user could open a Control UI WebSocket and present a fresh, unpaired device identity with elevated requested scopes.
Impact
An unpaired or restricted trusted-proxy Control UI client could obtain cached operator.admin authority on its live WebSocket connection. That authority could then be used for admin-gated Gateway RPCs until the connection was closed or revalidated.
Patched Versions
The first stable patched version is 2026.5.18.
Mitigations
Upgrade to [email protected] or later. Before upgrading, restrict trusted-proxy Control UI access to users who should have the scopes they can request, and restart the gateway after changing trusted-proxy authorization policy.
- Record
GHSA-qjpc-qf9m-xwmr- 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-862, CWE-863
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
openclawnpm |
before 2026.5.18 | 2026.5.18 |
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-2026-53821 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 8.7) in Openclaw, published June 12, 2026. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.29%, the 21st percentile. Fixed in openclaw 2026.5.18.
References
github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-qjpc-qf9m-xwmr
vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-scope-elevation-in-trusted-proxy-control-ui-websocket
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-53821