OpenClaw - Approval Bypass via Environment Variable Normalization

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.

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.

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.