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OpenclawApplication

CVE-2026-43566

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-05
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2026.4.14 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges 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 versions 2026.4.7 before 2026.4.14 contain a privilege escalation vulnerability where heartbeat owner downgrade logic skips webhook wake events carrying untrusted content. Attackers can exploit this by sending untrusted webhook wake events to preserve owner-like execution context when the run should have been downgraded.

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 2026.4.7 through 2026.4.13 have a privilege escalation vulnerability in the heartbeat owner downgrade mechanism. The logic that downgrades owner-like execution contexts fails to process webhook wake events, allowing attackers to send crafted untrusted webhook events that bypass the downgrade and preserve elevated privileges.

MitigationUpgrade to OpenClaw version 2026.4.14 or later, which includes the fix for proper webhook wake event handling in the downgrade logic.

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:>= 2026.4.7, < 2026.4.14

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
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 checks

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

  1. Identify OpenClaw installation version
    Run the command to display the installed OpenClaw version (commonly 'openclaw --version' or check the package manifest)
    Affected if The version is 2026.4.7, 2026.4.8, 2026.4.9, 2026.4.10, 2026.4.11, 2026.4.12, or 2026.4.13 (meaning >= 2026.4.7 and < 2026.4.14)
  2. Determine if heartbeat owner downgrade is configured
    Inspect the OpenClaw configuration files or settings for any rules or policies that control the heartbeat owner downgrade mechanism
    Affected if The downgrade mechanism is enabled and actively processing execution contexts
  3. Verify webhook functionality is accessible
    Check if webhook endpoints are exposed or if the webhook event processing module is loaded in the current OpenClaw deployment
    Affected if Webhook event handling is available as an attack vector surface
  4. Review logs for webhook wake events during downgrade periods
    Search OpenClaw audit or application logs for webhook events that occurred during or immediately after owner context downgrade operations
    Affected if There are webhook events recorded that bypassed the downgrade logic (unexpected preserved privileges)
  5. Check for unexpected privilege persistence
    Examine running execution contexts or session records to identify any owner-level privileges that should have been downgraded but remain active
    Affected if Owner-level privileges persist beyond the expected downgrade timeline when webhook events are involved

You are affected if OpenClaw version 2026.4.7 through 2026.4.13 is installed AND the heartbeat owner downgrade mechanism with webhook event handling is in use, as untrusted webhook events can bypass the downgrade and preserve elevated privileges.

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 2026.4.14 or later
Fixed in 2026.4.14
Vendor patch github.com →
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to OpenClaw version 2026.4.14 or later, which includes the fix for proper webhook wake event handling in the downgrade logic.

Recommended fix High confidence

2026.4.14

  1. 1. Identify the current OpenClaw version installed (e.g., using openclaw --version or checking package metadata)
  2. 2. Backup the current OpenClaw installation and any associated data/configuration files
  3. 3. Upgrade OpenClaw to version 2026.4.14 or later using the package manager or build system used in your deployment
  4. 4. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the new version number
  5. 5. Test that webhook wake events now properly trigger the owner downgrade logic as expected

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
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.

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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-2026-43566 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data