CVE-2026-28472
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 · uneditedOpenClaw versions prior to 2026.2.2 contain a vulnerability in the gateway WebSocket connect handshake in which it allows skipping device identity checks when auth.token is present but not validated. Attackers can connect to the gateway without providing device identity or pairing by exploiting the presence check instead of validation, potentially gaining operator access in vulnerable deployments.
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 confidenceOpenClaw gateway versions prior to 2026.2.2 have an authentication bypass in the WebSocket handshake where device identity checks are skipped if auth.token is present, rather than validated. Attackers can exploit this by providing a token without proper validation to gain operator access.
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< 2026.2.2CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify OpenClaw versionRetrieve the installed OpenClaw gateway version from the system (typically via command-line tool, admin UI, or version file)Affected if The installed version is any release prior to 2026.2.2 (e.g., 2026.2.1, 2026.1.x, earlier)
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Confirm WebSocket gateway is activeVerify that the WebSocket gateway interface is enabled and reachable on the OpenClaw instanceAffected if WebSocket gateway is enabled and accessible to network clients
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Inspect WebSocket authentication configurationExamine the WebSocket authentication configuration file or settings to determine how auth.token is processed during handshakeAffected if The configuration shows that token presence alone grants access without validating token authenticity or device identity
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Review authentication logs for anomalous WebSocket connectionsSearch WebSocket or gateway authentication logs for connection attempts where operator-level access was granted without proper identity verificationAffected if Logs show operator access granted via WebSocket without documented valid token validation events
A user is affected if running any OpenClaw version below 2026.2.2 with the WebSocket gateway enabled, where the authentication configuration relies on token presence rather than validating token identity.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped2026.2.2
Upgrade OpenClaw to version 2026.2.2 or later which implements proper token validation rather than mere presence checking. Review WebSocket authentication logs for unauthorized access attempts.
2026.2.2
- Upgrade OpenClaw to version 2026.2.2 or later to address the missing authentication vulnerability in the WebSocket handshake
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-28472 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-28472 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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