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OpenclawApplication

CVE-2026-53821

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-06-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2026.5.18 or later.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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 2026.5.18 accepts WebSocket client-declared operator scopes before binding to server-approved pairing or trusted-proxy authorization baseline. Unpaired or restricted trusted-proxy Control UI clients can obtain cached operator.admin authority on live WebSocket connections to execute admin-gated Gateway RPCs.

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 2026.5.18 contains an authorization bypass vulnerability in its WebSocket implementation. The application accepts client-declared operator scopes before binding to server-approved pairing or trusted-proxy authorization baseline, allowing unpaired or restricted Control UI clients to obtain cached operator.admin authority and execute admin-gated Gateway RPCs.

MitigationUpgrade to OpenClaw version 2026.5.18 or later, which enforces proper server-approved authorization baseline validation before accepting any client-declared operator scopes.

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:< 2026.5.18

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
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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. Check OpenClaw installation version
    Locate the OpenClaw installation directory and check the version file or executable metadata. Common locations include /opt/openclaw, /usr/local/openclaw, or the application's properties file. Run: openclaw --version or check version.info in the installation root.
    Affected if The installed version is below 2026.5.18 (e.g., 2026.5.17, 2026.5.0, any 2025.x release)
  2. Verify WebSocket operator scope configuration
    Examine the OpenClaw configuration files (openclaw.conf, gateway.yaml, or websocket.ini) for WebSocket server settings. Look for sections defining operator scopes, authorization baselines, or client trust settings. Search for terms like 'operator_scope', 'client_trust', or 'scope_validation'.
    Affected if WebSocket is enabled and configuration shows client-declared scopes are accepted without server-side validation (missing 'strict_scope_validation' or similar enforcement flag)
  3. Inspect Control UI client pairing status
    Review the Control UI client registration or pairing logs and configuration. Check for files tracking paired clients, client credentials, or session tokens in the data directory. Look for entries indicating client type (Control UI) and assigned permissions.
    Affected if There are unpaired or restricted Control UI clients configured that could connect via WebSocket to the Gateway
  4. Check for cached operator.admin authority
    Examine the runtime data, session cache, or credential storage for cached operator permissions. Look in the data/ or cache/ directories for files containing 'operator', 'admin', 'authority', or 'scope' in filenames. Inspect active WebSocket connection states if accessible.
    Affected if Cached operator.admin tokens or scopes exist for clients that have not been properly validated against server baselines

You are affected if OpenClaw version is below 2026.5.18 AND WebSocket/Control UI connections are enabled with client-declared operator scopes accepted without proper server-side validation.

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 2026.5.18 or later
Fixed in 2026.5.18
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to OpenClaw version 2026.5.18 or later, which enforces proper server-approved authorization baseline validation before accepting any client-declared operator scopes.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

OpenClaw 2026.5.18

  1. Upgrade OpenClaw to version 2026.5.18 or later to resolve the WebSocket authorization bypass
  2. After upgrading, verify that WebSocket connections now require proper server-approved pairing or trusted-proxy authorization before accepting operator scopes
  3. Test that unpaired or restricted trusted-proxy Control UI clients can no longer obtain cached operator.admin authority
  4. Confirm that admin-gated Gateway RPCs can only be executed by properly authorized clients with server-validated scopes

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 / QA3.0 h
21.0 hours of engineering $3,680
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,888.

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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-2026-53821 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