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OpenclawApplication

CVE-2026-53831

HIGH · 8.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-06-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2026.5.18 or later.
See remediation →
87/100
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 2026.5.18 contains a policy enforcement vulnerability in system.run safe-bin allowlist validation that allows shell expansion to modify command interpretation on POSIX nodes. Authenticated operators can exploit shell metacharacters in approved commands to read unintended node-local files and expose sensitive configuration data.

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's system.run function uses a safe-bin allowlist to restrict which commands operators can execute. The allowlist validation fails to properly sanitize shell metacharacters, allowing authenticated operators to inject additional commands or path traversal sequences through approved commands. This enables reading arbitrary local files on POSIX nodes by exploiting characters like ;, |, &, or ../ in what should be restricted commands.

MitigationSanitize all command arguments to escape or remove shell metacharacters before execution, or refactor to use exec-family functions with explicit arguments instead of shell invocation. Update to OpenClaw 2026.5.18 or later if a patched version is available.

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
None

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

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 and version
    Run 'openclaw --version' or check the package manager for installed OpenClaw version
    Affected if The installed version is earlier than 2026.5.18
  2. Verify system.run function is accessible
    Check if the system.run function is enabled in OpenClaw's operator configuration or access control settings
    Affected if system.run is enabled and accessible to operators or untrusted users
  3. Examine the safe-bin allowlist configuration
    Locate and inspect the allowlist configuration file that defines permitted commands for system.run
    Affected if The allowlist exists and includes commands that could accept arguments containing shell metacharacters
  4. Test for shell metacharacter filtering
    Attempt a controlled test using a whitelisted command with a shell metacharacter (such as backticks or $()) to see if the character is passed through or rejected
    Affected if Shell metacharacters are not stripped or rejected by the allowlist validation, allowing command injection
  5. Review operator access controls
    Check which operator roles have permission to invoke system.run and whether untrusted operators can access this function
    Affected if Untrusted or low-privilege operators have access to system.run without additional restrictions

You are affected if OpenClaw version is before 2026.5.18 AND system.run is enabled for operators, since the allowlist validation fails to filter shell metacharacters and could allow injection attacks.

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

Sanitize all command arguments to escape or remove shell metacharacters before execution, or refactor to use exec-family functions with explicit arguments instead of shell invocation. Update to OpenClaw 2026.5.18 or later if a patched version is available.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

OpenClaw 2026.5.18

  1. 1. Inventory all OpenClaw deployments and identify instances running versions before 2026.5.18
  2. 2. Review the system.run safe-bin allowlist configuration to identify any commands that may contain shell metacharacters (such as $, `, |, ;, >, <, etc.)
  3. 3. Backup current OpenClaw configuration and database before performing the upgrade
  4. 4. Upgrade OpenClaw to version 2026.5.18 or later by following the official upgrade documentation
  5. 5. After upgrading, verify that the safe-bin allowlist properly rejects or sanitizes shell metacharacters in commands
  6. 6. Audit access logs and configurations for any signs of exploitation prior to the upgrade
  7. 7. Test that legitimate commands in the allowlist still function correctly post-upgrade
Caveat Review release notes for 2026.5.18 to confirm no breaking changes to existing allowlisted commands or workflows

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

Fix this in Openclaw Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
19.0 hours of engineering $3,280
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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-2026-53831 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