OpenclawApplication

CVE-2026-32971

HIGH · 8.0 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-03-31
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2026.3.11 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable

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 before 2026.3.11 contains an approval-integrity vulnerability in node-host system.run approvals that displays extracted shell payloads instead of the executed argv. Attackers can place wrapper binaries and induce wrapper-shaped commands to execute local code after operators approve misleading command text.

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 before 2026.3.11 has an approval-integrity flaw in its node-host system.run approvals where the command displayed to operators for approval differs from what actually executes - the system shows the argv but extracts and executes shell payloads instead. Attackers can place wrapper binaries that appear benign when approved but execute malicious local code.

MitigationUpdate to OpenClaw 2026.3.11 or later which fixes the approval integrity issue; operators should verify command integrity through additional validation before approving.

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:< 2026.3.11

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
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/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 checks

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

  1. Identify OpenClaw installation and version
    Locate the OpenClaw installation directory and determine the installed version by inspecting version metadata files, executable properties, or running version inquiry commands
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 2026.3.11
  2. Verify node-host system.run approval mechanism is in use
    Inspect OpenClaw configuration files or runtime settings to determine whether the node-host system.run command approval feature is enabled or configured
    Affected if The system.run approval mechanism is enabled and active in the environment
  3. Inspect approval dialog command display behavior
    Trigger a system.run approval prompt and observe whether the displayed command matches the literal argv arguments or appears as a shell-expanded or extracted payload
    Affected if Approval dialogs display modified or extracted shell payloads rather than the original command arguments
  4. Audit for wrapper binaries in command execution paths
    Examine the system PATH and OpenClaw's configured execution directories for any wrapper or proxy binaries that could intercept approvals and substitute different commands
    Affected if Wrapper binaries exist that could present benign text in approvals while executing different commands after user consent

A system is affected if OpenClaw version is below 2026.3.11, the node-host system.run approval feature is enabled, and approval dialogs display shell-expanded payloads instead of literal argv arguments, potentially allowing wrapper binaries to bypass user consent.

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 2026.3.11 or later
Fixed in 2026.3.11
Interim mitigation

Update to OpenClaw 2026.3.11 or later which fixes the approval integrity issue; operators should verify command integrity through additional validation before approving.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

2026.3.11

  1. Upgrade OpenClaw to version 2026.3.11 or later to resolve the approval-integrity vulnerability where shell payloads are displayed instead of executed argv in system.run approvals

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

Fix this in Openclaw Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
30.0 hours of engineering $5,280
Get the upgrade done

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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2026-32971 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
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