CVE-2026-53862
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 2026.5.12 contains a bootstrap token replay vulnerability allowing callers with pending token access to reuse tokens with broader requested scopes. Attackers can replay bootstrap tokens before approval to escalate pairing authority beyond intended scope limits.
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 2026.5.12 contains a bootstrap token replay vulnerability where attackers with pending token access can replay bootstrap tokens before approval to request broader scopes than originally authorized, enabling escalation of pairing authority beyond intended limits.
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< 2026.5.12= 2026.5.12CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/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 OpenClaw installed versionRun the command 'openclaw --version' or check the package manager for the installed openclaw package versionAffected if The installed version is 2026.5.12 or any version before 2026.5.12 (e.g., 2026.5.11, 2026.5.0, etc.)
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Identify if bootstrap token pairing is enabledInspect the OpenClaw configuration file (commonly located at /etc/openclaw/config.yaml or ~/.openclaw/config) for the 'pairing' or 'bootstrap' module settingsAffected if Bootstrap token pairing functionality is enabled in the configuration
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Check for pending token recordsExamine OpenClaw's token storage directory (typically /var/lib/openclaw/tokens or ~/.openclaw/tokens) for any pending bootstrap token filesAffected if There are pending bootstrap token files that have not yet been approved
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Review token request scope logsCheck OpenClaw audit logs (usually in /var/log/openclaw/ or accessible via 'openclaw logs') for token request events, focusing on scope parametersAffected if Token requests show scope values that differ from the originally authorized scope, indicating potential replay with escalated permissions
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Verify token replay protection mechanismsInspect the OpenClaw authentication subsystem configuration for any 'token_replay_protection', 'nonce_validation', or similar security settingsAffected if Token replay protection is disabled or not configured
You are affected if OpenClaw version is 2026.5.12 or earlier and the bootstrap token pairing feature is enabled, particularly if pending tokens exist in the environment.
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.
From vendor data2026.5.12
Upgrade to OpenClaw 2026.5.12 or later to obtain the fix for this bootstrap token replay vulnerability.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,224.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-53862 — 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-2026-53862 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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