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OpenclawApplication

CVE-2026-22172

CRITICAL · 9.9 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-03-20
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2026.3.12 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.3.12 contain an authorization bypass vulnerability in the WebSocket connect path that allows shared-token or password-authenticated connections to self-declare elevated scopes without server-side binding. Attackers can exploit this logic flaw to present unauthorized scopes such as operator.admin and perform admin-only gateway operations.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

OpenClaw versions before 2026.3.12 have an authorization bypass in the WebSocket connection path where authenticated users (via shared-token or password) can self-declare elevated scopes such as 'operator.admin' without server-side validation binding those scopes to their authenticated session. This allows privilege escalation to perform admin-only gateway operations.

MitigationUpgrade to OpenClaw 2026.3.12 or later, and implement server-side scope binding where scopes are validated against the authenticated session rather than accepted from client declarations.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
OpenclawApplication
Affected:< 2026.3.12

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify OpenClaw installation version
    Query the installed OpenClaw version using the product's version command or check the package metadata. Compare the version number against the affected range: any version prior to 2026.3.12 is vulnerable.
    Affected if Installed version is less than 2026.3.12
  2. Confirm WebSocket authentication is enabled
    Examine the OpenClaw configuration for WebSocket endpoints and verify that shared-token or password authentication methods are configured and active.
    Affected if WebSocket authentication using shared-token or password is enabled and the version is vulnerable
  3. Inspect scope claim handling in WebSocket handshake
    Review the WebSocket connection initialization code or configuration to determine whether client-provided scope parameters are accepted during the connect phase without server-side validation.
    Affected if The WebSocket connect path accepts scope claims from the client without enforcing server-side verification against the authenticated identity's authorized permissions
  4. Test for scope claim injection
    Attempt to connect via WebSocket with an authenticated session while including elevated scope values such as 'operator.admin' in the connection request. Observe whether the server grants the requested scopes without rejecting or adjusting them.
    Affected if The server accepts and grants self-declared scopes that exceed the authenticated identity's actual authorized permissions, allowing access to admin-only gateway operations

A user is affected if running OpenClaw version prior to 2026.3.12 with WebSocket authentication enabled, where the server accepts client-provided scope claims without validating them against the authenticated identity's bound authorization.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 2026.3.12 or later
Fixed in 2026.3.12
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to OpenClaw 2026.3.12 or later, and implement server-side scope binding where scopes are validated against the authenticated session rather than accepted from client declarations.

Recommended fix High confidence

2026.3.12 or later

  1. 1. Identify all instances of OpenClaw running versions prior to 2026.3.12 in your environment
  2. 2. Schedule a maintenance window for the upgrade process
  3. 3. Before upgrading, backup current configuration files and data
  4. 4. Upgrade OpenClaw to version 2026.3.12 or later
  5. 5. After upgrade, verify that WebSocket connections no longer accept self-declared scopes without server-side validation
  6. 6. Test admin-only gateway operations to confirm authorization controls are enforced
  7. 7. Monitor logs for any unauthorized scope elevation attempts

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Openclaw Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,880
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $7,808.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-22172 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data