CVE-2026-53829
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 · uneditedOpenClaw before 2026.5.18 contains an approval display truncation vulnerability allowing authenticated users to hide command suffixes from approvers. Attackers can submit oversized exec commands with benign prefixes and malicious suffixes to execute unauthorized operations after approval.
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 confidenceOpenClaw before version 2026.5.18 has an approval display truncation vulnerability in its command approval workflow. Authenticated users can submit oversized exec commands where a benign prefix is visible to approvers but a malicious suffix is hidden due to UI truncation. Once the truncated command is approved, the full command including the hidden malicious suffix executes.
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< 2026.5.18CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify OpenClaw installationLocate the OpenClaw installation directory and determine the installed version by checking version files, binary metadata, or running 'openclaw --version' if availableAffected if OpenClaw is installed and the version is less than 2026.5.18
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Verify approval workflow is enabledCheck the OpenClaw configuration files or settings for the approval workflow feature (look for approval, workflow, or exec-related configuration keys)Affected if The approval workflow feature is enabled and used for command execution
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Test command display truncationSubmit a command with a long prefix (e.g., 100+ characters of benign content) followed by potentially malicious suffixes, then verify if the approval display shows the complete command or truncates itAffected if The approval display truncates commands and does not show the full command content to approvers
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Check for oversized command validationInspect server-side logs or configuration to determine if there are length limits or validation checks on submitted commandsAffected if No server-side validation exists to detect or warn about oversized commands that could be hidden by truncation
A user is affected if OpenClaw version is below 2026.5.18 AND the approval workflow is enabled, allowing commands to be submitted where the display truncation hides portions of the command from approvers.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped2026.5.18
Upgrade to OpenClaw 2026.5.18 or later. Additionally, implement full command display in the approval UI regardless of length and add input validation to detect and reject commands attempting to exploit display truncation.
OpenClaw 2026.5.18 or later
- 1. Back up the current OpenClaw installation and its database before proceeding with any changes
- 2. Review the OpenClaw release notes for version 2026.5.18 to understand what changes are included
- 3. Upgrade OpenClaw to version 2026.5.18 or the latest stable release available after that version
- 4. After upgrade, verify the approval workflow now correctly displays the full command content including any suffixes
- 5. Test the approval display functionality with oversized exec commands to confirm truncation vulnerability is resolved
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-53829 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-53829 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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