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OpenclawApplication

CVE-2026-41387

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-04-28
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2026.3.22 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

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 2026.3.22 contains an incomplete host environment variable sanitization vulnerability in host-env-security-policy.json and host-env-security.ts that allows package-manager environment overrides. Attackers can exploit approved exec requests to redirect package resolution or runtime bootstrap to attacker-controlled infrastructure and execute trojanized content.

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 before version 2026.3.22 has incomplete sanitization of host environment variables in host-env-security-policy.json and host-env-security.ts. This allows attackers to use approved exec requests to override package-manager environment variables, redirecting package resolution or runtime bootstrap to attacker-controlled infrastructure and execute malicious trojanized content.

MitigationUpdate to OpenClaw version 2026.3.22 or later which contains complete host environment variable sanitization. Review and validate all exec requests for environment variable manipulation until the patch is 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:< 2026.3.22

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
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/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. Check OpenClaw installed version
    Run the command to retrieve the OpenClaw version (such as openclaw --version, claw --version, or check the package.json version field) and compare it to the affected range: versions prior to 2026.3.22
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 2026.3.22
  2. Locate host-env-security-policy.json
    Search for the file named host-env-security-policy.json in the OpenClaw installation directory or configuration folder and examine its contents
    Affected if The file exists but lacks complete environment variable sanitization or allows package-manager related environment variables to pass through unchecked
  3. Locate host-env-security.ts
    Search for the file named host-env-security.ts in the OpenClaw source or configuration directory and review its environment variable handling logic
    Affected if The file exists and contains incomplete sanitization of host environment variables, particularly those related to package management
  4. Inspect exec request configurations
    Review any exec request configurations or policy files that define approved exec commands, looking for entries that permit environment variable injection or manipulation
    Affected if There are exec request configurations that allow environment variables to be set or overridden without proper validation
  5. Check package-manager environment variables
    Examine the runtime environment for package-manager related environment variables (such as those controlling package resolution or bootstrap) that could be redirected to external infrastructure
    Affected if Package-manager environment variables can be controlled through exec requests or are not blocked by the security policy

You are affected if OpenClaw version is lower than 2026.3.22 AND the host environment variable sanitization in the security policy files is incomplete or missing.

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 2026.3.22 or later
Fixed in 2026.3.22
Interim mitigation

Update to OpenClaw version 2026.3.22 or later which contains complete host environment variable sanitization. Review and validate all exec requests for environment variable manipulation until the patch is applied.

Recommended fix High confidence

2026.3.22

  1. 1. Identify the current version of OpenClaw installed in your environment
  2. 2. Upgrade OpenClaw to version 2026.3.22 or later
  3. 3. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the OpenClaw version
  4. 4. Review host-env-security-policy.json and host-env-security.ts to confirm environment variable sanitization is properly configured

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

Fix this in Openclaw Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing5.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
17.0 hours of engineering $2,970
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,752.

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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-2026-41387 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