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OpenclawApplication

CVE-2026-53832

HIGH · 7.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-06-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2026.5.18 or later.
See remediation →
73/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 an identity header validation vulnerability allowing local same-host callers to forge trusted-proxy identity headers. Attackers with access to the proxy-facing Gateway port can supply forged identity headers to assume operator identity and potentially escalate privileges.

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 version 2026.5.18 has an identity header validation vulnerability in its Gateway component. Attackers with network access to the proxy-facing port can craft forged X-Forwarded-User or similar identity headers to impersonate trusted operators, bypassing the intended proxy trust model and achieving unauthorized privilege escalation.

MitigationUpgrade OpenClaw to version 2026.5.18 or later which contains proper identity header validation. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, implement strict header validation at the Gateway level to verify the authenticity of identity headers from trusted proxies.

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/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 installed OpenClaw version
    Run the OpenClaw version command or check the application binary/package metadata to determine the exact version number
    Affected if The installed version is earlier than 2026.5.18
  2. Confirm Gateway component is in use
    Check if the proxy-facing Gateway component is enabled and operational in the OpenClaw deployment
    Affected if Gateway is enabled and handling proxy requests
  3. Review identity header configuration
    Inspect the Gateway configuration files or settings for how identity headers from trusted proxies are processed and validated
    Affected if Identity headers from proxies are accepted without rigorous validation
  4. Verify trusted-proxy header acceptance
    Examine whether the Gateway accepts and trusts identity headers (such as X-Forwarded-User, X-Real-IP, or similar operator identity headers) from local or untrusted proxy sources
    Affected if The system accepts identity headers from proxies without proper verification

The environment is affected if OpenClaw version is below 2026.5.18 AND the Gateway component is enabled with inadequate identity header validation from proxies.

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 OpenClaw to version 2026.5.18 or later which contains proper identity header validation. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, implement strict header validation at the Gateway level to verify the authenticity of identity headers from trusted proxies.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

2026.5.18

  1. Identify all OpenClaw instances currently running versions before 2026.5.18
  2. Schedule a maintenance window for the upgrade process
  3. Review current configuration to ensure compatibility with version 2026.5.18
  4. Back up current configuration files and any persistent data
  5. Upgrade OpenClaw to version 2026.5.18 using the standard upgrade procedure for your deployment method
  6. After upgrade, verify that the Gateway port is properly configured and monitor for any unauthorized access attempts
  7. Test that legitimate identity headers are properly validated and that forged headers are rejected

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 / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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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-2026-53832 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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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