CVE-2026-53854
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 2026.4.25 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability in internal and webchat command authentication that allows senders to inherit wildcard ownerAllowFrom state across channel boundaries. Attackers can exploit this by sending commands on affected internal or webchat paths to execute owner-style command behavior outside intended channel scope, potentially bypassing access controls.
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 2026.4.25 has a privilege escalation vulnerability in its internal and webchat command authentication system. The flaw allows attackers to inherit wildcard 'ownerAllowFrom' state across channel boundaries, enabling execution of owner-privileged commands outside the intended channel scope and bypassing access controls.
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< 2026.4.25CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Determine installed OpenClaw versionLocate and inspect the OpenClaw version file or binary, or run the version command if available in the installationAffected if The installed version is before 2026.4.25 (e.g., 2026.4.24, earlier versions, or any version number less than 2026.4.25)
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Verify internal command system is enabledInspect OpenClaw configuration files or runtime settings for the internal command authentication moduleAffected if The internal command system is active and the version is vulnerable
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Verify webchat module is enabledInspect configuration for webchat command processing and authentication settingsAffected if Webchat is enabled and the version is vulnerable
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Inspect ownerAllowFrom wildcard configurationReview channel permission settings for 'ownerAllowFrom' entries that use wildcard or broad scope settings across multiple channelsAffected if Multiple channels share wildcard 'ownerAllowFrom' state that could be inherited across channel boundaries
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Audit cross-channel command execution logsReview command execution logs for owner-privileged commands executed from unexpected channels or outside intended scopeAffected if Owner-level commands were executed from channels where the user should not have had owner privileges
A user is affected if OpenClaw version is below 2026.4.25 and either the internal or webchat command system is enabled with cross-channel ownerAllowFrom permissions configured.
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 · scoped2026.4.25
Upgrade to OpenClaw version 2026.4.25 or later to patch the authentication bypass. Additionally, audit existing channel permissions and monitor for unauthorized owner-level command execution across channels.
OpenClaw 2026.4.25 or later
- 1. Identify all OpenClaw instances currently running version earlier than 2026.4.25
- 2. Review current internal and webchat command access controls to understand the scope of the vulnerability
- 3. Upgrade OpenClaw to version 2026.4.25 or later to obtain the fixed release
- 4. After upgrading, verify that the ownerAllowFrom state is properly scoped per channel and does not leak across channel boundaries
- 5. Test internal and webchat command execution to confirm access controls are enforced correctly
- 6. Monitor logs for any suspicious command execution that may indicate attempted exploitation
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-53854 — 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-2026-53854 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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