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OpenclawApplication

CVE-2026-33579

CRITICAL · 9.9 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-03-31
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2026.3.28 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable Zero-click Patch available

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 2026.3.28 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability in the /pair approve command path that fails to forward caller scopes into the core approval check. A caller with pairing privileges but without admin privileges can approve pending device requests asking for broader scopes including admin access by exploiting the missing scope validation in extensions/device-pair/index.ts and src/infra/device-pairing.ts.

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 2026.3.28 has a privilege escalation vulnerability where the /pair approve command fails to validate and forward the caller's scopes into the core approval check. An attacker with pairing privileges (non-admin) can approve malicious device pairing requests that request broader scopes including admin access, effectively escalating their own privileges by exploiting missing scope validation in extensions/device-pair/index.ts and src/infra/device-pairing.ts.

MitigationUpgrade to OpenClaw version 2026.3.28 or later which contains proper scope validation. If immediate patching is not possible, disable the /pair approve functionality for non-admin users until the upgrade can be applied.

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:< 2026.3.28

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. Check OpenClaw installed version
    Run the command to retrieve the OpenClaw version (e.g., openclaw --version, openclaw -v, or check package.json/package-lock.json if self-hosted)
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 2026.3.28 (e.g., 2026.3.27, 2026.3.0, or any version < 2026.3.28)
  2. Locate the device-pairing extension source files
    Find extensions/device-pair/index.ts and src/infra/device-pairing.ts in the OpenClaw installation directory or source code repository
    Affected if These files exist in the installation and the version is below 2026.3.28
  3. Inspect scope validation in extensions/device-pair/index.ts
    Open extensions/device-pair/index.ts and search for the /pair approve command handler. Check if the caller scopes are forwarded to the core approval check before granting approval
    Affected if The code shows the /pair approve command does NOT pass caller scopes to the approval function, meaning any user with pairing privileges can approve any scope request
  4. Inspect scope validation in src/infra/device-pairing.ts
    Open src/infra/device-pairing.ts and examine the device approval function. Verify if it validates that the approving caller has equal or higher privileges than the requested scopes
    Affected if The approval function lacks scope validation logic and accepts any scope request without comparing against the caller's granted scopes
  5. Check if device pairing feature is enabled
    Review the OpenClaw configuration files (e.g., config.json, settings.yaml) or runtime configuration for device-pairing or pairing-related feature flags
    Affected if Device pairing is enabled and the installed version is below 2026.3.28

A user is affected if OpenClaw version is below 2026.3.28 and the device pairing feature is enabled, as the missing scope validation allows privilege escalation.

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 2026.3.28 or later
Fixed in 2026.3.28
Vendor patch github.com →
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to OpenClaw version 2026.3.28 or later which contains proper scope validation. If immediate patching is not possible, disable the /pair approve functionality for non-admin users until the upgrade can be applied.

Recommended fix High confidence

2026.3.28 or later

  1. 1. Identify the current OpenClaw version installed in your environment
  2. 2. Back up the current installation including configuration files and database
  3. 3. Download the official OpenClaw release version 2026.3.28 or later from the official repository
  4. 4. Stop the OpenClaw service to prevent active connections during upgrade
  5. 5. Replace the existing installation files with the new version
  6. 6. Review and update configuration files if required based on release notes
  7. 7. Start the OpenClaw service and verify it runs correctly
  8. 8. Test the /pair approve functionality to confirm the fix is working
Caveat Review release notes for any configuration or database migration requirements before upgrading

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

Fix this in Openclaw Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
13.0 hours of engineering $2,290
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,664.

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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-2026-33579 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