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OpenclawApplication

CVE-2026-25157

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-02-04
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2026.1.29 or later.
See remediation →
75/100
Remediation priority · High

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 is a personal AI assistant. Prior to version 2026.1.29, there is an OS command injection vulnerability via the Project Root Path in sshNodeCommand. The sshNodeCommand function constructed a shell script without properly escaping the user-supplied project path in an error message. When the cd command failed, the unescaped path was interpolated directly into an echo statement, allowing arbitrary command execution on the remote SSH host. The parseSSHTarget function did not validate that SSH target strings could not begin with a dash. An attacker-supplied target like -oProxyCommand=... would be interpreted as an SSH configuration flag rather than a hostname, allowing arbitrary command execution on the local machine. This issue has been patched in version 2026.1.29.

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 · high confidence

OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.1.29 contain two command injection vulnerabilities. First, the sshNodeCommand function fails to escape user-supplied project root paths when constructing shell scripts, allowing arbitrary command execution on remote SSH hosts via unsanitized echo statements. Second, parseSSHTarget does not validate that SSH target strings cannot begin with a dash, enabling attacker-controlled targets like -oProxyCommand=... to be interpreted as SSH configuration flags and execute arbitrary commands locally.

MitigationUpgrade to version 2026.1.29 or later. Until then, avoid using sshNodeCommand with untrusted project paths and validate that SSH target strings do not begin with dash characters.

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:< 2026.1.29

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
Local
Complexity
High
Privileges
Low
User interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/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 and version
    Locate the OpenClaw installation directory and check the version file or binary metadata. Common locations include /opt/openclaw, /usr/local/openclaw, or the application directory. Use commands like 'openclaw --version' or inspect version.json, VERSION file, or binary properties.
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 2026.1.29 (e.g., 2026.1.28, 2026.1.0, or any pre-2026 release)
  2. Locate sshNodeCommand function usage
    Search the OpenClaw source code or configuration files for calls to sshNodeCommand. This function is used for executing commands on remote SSH hosts. Look in Python/script files, configuration templates, or deployment scripts where SSH operations are defined.
    Affected if The sshNodeCommand function is present and used with project root path parameters that could be user-controlled or unsanitized
  3. Check parseSSHTarget function implementation
    Examine the parseSSHTarget function code in the OpenClaw codebase. Look for how SSH target strings are parsed and whether there is validation to prevent targets starting with dash characters.
    Affected if The parseSSHTarget function lacks validation to reject SSH target strings beginning with a dash (-)
  4. Inspect SSH target input handling
    Review how SSH target strings are received and processed in your OpenClaw configuration or API endpoints. Check for user-facing inputs or configuration fields that accept SSH target values and trace how they reach parseSSHTarget.
    Affected if SSH target inputs are accepted from users or external sources without validation preventing dash-prefixed values like -oProxyCommand=...
  5. Audit project root path handling in SSH operations
    Examine how project root paths are passed to sshNodeCommand. Look for echo statements or shell script construction where the project path is embedded without proper escaping or sanitization.
    Affected if Project root paths are used in shell script construction within sshNodeCommand without escaping shell metacharacters

A system is affected if it runs any OpenClaw version prior to 2026.1.29 and uses either sshNodeCommand with user-controlled project root paths or parseSSHTarget with unvalidated SSH target strings that could begin with dash characters.

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 2026.1.29 or later
Fixed in 2026.1.29
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to version 2026.1.29 or later. Until then, avoid using sshNodeCommand with untrusted project paths and validate that SSH target strings do not begin with dash characters.

Recommended fix High confidence

OpenClaw 2026.1.29

  1. Identify the current installed version of OpenClaw by checking the application or package manager
  2. Backup all OpenClaw configurations, user data, and any custom settings
  3. Upgrade OpenClaw to version 2026.1.29 or later using the appropriate installation method (pip, package manager, or source)
  4. After upgrade, verify the sshNodeCommand function properly escapes user-supplied project paths in error messages
  5. After upgrade, verify parseSSHTarget function validates that SSH target strings cannot begin with a dash
  6. Test SSH node command functionality with malicious input patterns (e.g., paths with shell metacharacters, targets starting with dash) to confirm the vulnerability is fixed
  7. Monitor system logs for any attempted command injection 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
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2026-25157 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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