CVE-2026-59261
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 2026.5.28 contains a credential exposure vulnerability where workspace dotenv files can override provider credentials. Attackers with lower-trust access to configured input paths can expose sensitive data and credentials that should remain within trusted boundaries.
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 2026.5.28 has a credential exposure vulnerability where workspace dotenv files can override provider credentials. Attackers with lower-trust access to configured input paths can place malicious dotenv files to expose sensitive credentials that should remain within trusted boundaries.
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< 2026.5.28CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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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Check OpenClaw versionRun 'openclaw --version' or check the installed package version using your package managerAffected if Version is before 2026.5.28
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Identify configured input pathsReview OpenClaw configuration files for input_path or workspace directory settings, or run 'openclaw config show' to list configured pathsAffected if Input paths are defined and accessible to users outside the trusted boundary
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Locate workspace dotenv filesSearch for .env files in configured input/workspace directories, for example: find /path/to/input -name '.env' 2>/dev/nullAffected if Any .env files exist in input or workspace directories that are not in a strictly admin-controlled location
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Check credential provider configurationReview OpenClaw configuration for provider credential settings, looking for environment variable references or credential file paths that could be overridden by dotenv filesAffected if Credentials are configured to be loaded from environment variables that could be overridden by workspace dotenv files
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Verify input path access controlsCheck file permissions on configured input paths to determine if lower-trust users have write access: ls -la /path/to/input or equivalentAffected if Input directories are writable by users who should not be able to modify credential-loading behavior
You are affected if running OpenClaw version before 2026.5.28 with workspace directories that lower-trust users can write to, allowing them to place .env files that override credential provider settings.
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 data2026.5.28
Upgrade to OpenClaw version 2026.5.28 or later, and restrict access to configured input paths to prevent untrusted users from placing dotenv files that can override provider credentials.
- 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-2026-59261 — 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-2026-59261 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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