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OpenclawApplication

CVE-2026-53814

HIGH · 8.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-06-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2026.5.20 or later.
See remediation →
89/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable Zero-click

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 2026.5.20 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability where hook-triggered agent runs incorrectly receive owner-scoped MCP loopback authority instead of hook-appropriate scope. Attackers with a valid hook token can exploit the /hooks/agent endpoint to cause spawned CLI runtimes to access or invoke owner-only MCP tools, potentially executing privileged actions like persistent cron state modifications.

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 6.5.20 has a privilege escalation where hook-triggered agent runs receive owner-scoped MCP loopback authority instead of the limited scope intended for hooks. Attackers with a valid hook token can exploit the /hooks/agent endpoint to spawn CLI runtimes that access owner-level MCP tools, enabling privileged actions like persistent cron modifications.

MitigationUpgrade to OpenClaw 2026.5.20 or later. Until then, restrict access to hook tokens and monitor /hooks/agent endpoint for unauthorized owner-scope requests.

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:< 2026.5.20

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
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
Low

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L

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 installed version
    Run 'openclaw --version' or check the version via the API endpoint /api/version, or inspect the installed package metadata
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 2026.5.20
  2. Verify hook token configuration
    Inspect the hook token storage (typically in config/hooks/ or via 'openclaw hooks list' command) and note which tokens exist
    Affected if Any active hook tokens are present in the environment
  3. Confirm /hooks/agent endpoint accessibility
    Check if the /hooks/agent HTTP endpoint is exposed and reachable (review web server config and firewall rules)
    Affected if The /hooks/agent endpoint is accessible to users with hook tokens
  4. Audit MCP tool scope usage
    Review OpenClaw logs for calls to /api/agent/run with MCP tools, especially owner-level tools, initiated from hook-triggered agents
    Affected if Logs show MCP tool invocations with owner-level scope originating from hook-based agent runs
  5. Inspect for unauthorized cron modifications
    Examine system cron tables (crontab -l) and OpenClaw-related scheduled tasks for unexpected entries created around the time of hook-triggered agent runs
    Affected if New or unexpected cron jobs appear that were not created through normal administrative channels

A user is affected if running OpenClaw version lower than 2026.5.20 with accessible hook tokens and the /hooks/agent endpoint, where hook-triggered agents can access owner-level MCP tools or modify system cron.

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 2026.5.20 or later
Fixed in 2026.5.20
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to OpenClaw 2026.5.20 or later. Until then, restrict access to hook tokens and monitor /hooks/agent endpoint for unauthorized owner-scope requests.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

2026.5.20

  1. 1. Identify the current installed version of OpenClaw by checking the application binary or package manager
  2. 2. Stop any running OpenClaw services or processes before upgrading
  3. 3. Upgrade OpenClaw to version 2026.5.20 or later using the official upgrade mechanism (e.g., package manager, binary replacement, or deployment pipeline)
  4. 4. Verify the new version is correctly installed by checking the version identifier
  5. 5. Restart OpenClaw services
  6. 6. Test that hook-triggered agents now receive the correct hook-appropriate scope rather than owner-scoped MCP loopback authority
  7. 7. Validate that the /hooks/agent endpoint functions correctly with valid hook tokens

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-2026-53814 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