Critical

OpenClaw's gateway connect could skip device identity checks when auth.token was present but not yet validated

  • Disclosed: 17.02.2026
  • Updated: 11.10.2026 10:22

Summary

The gateway WebSocket connect handshake could allow skipping device identity checks when auth.token was present but not yet validated.

Details

In src/gateway/server/ws-connection/message-handler.ts, the device-identity requirement could be bypassed based on the presence of a non-empty connectParams.auth.token rather than a validated shared-secret authentication result.

Impact

In deployments where the gateway WebSocket is reachable and connections can be authorized via Tailscale without validating the shared secret, a client could connect without providing device identity/pairing. Depending on version and configuration, this could result in operator access.

Deployment Guidance

Per OpenClaw security guidance, the gateway should only be reachable from a trusted network and by trusted users (for example, restrict Tailnet users/ACLs when using Tailscale Serve).

If the gateway WebSocket is only reachable by trusted users, there is typically no untrusted party with network access to exploit this issue.

Affected Packages / Versions

  • Package: openclaw (npm)
  • Affected: <= 2026.2.1
  • Fixed: >= 2026.2.2

Fix

Device-identity skipping now requires validated shared-secret authentication (token/password). Tailscale-authenticated connections without validated shared secret require device identity.

Fix Commit(s)

  • fe81b1d7125a014b8280da461f34efbf5f761575

Thanks @simecek for reporting.

Affected software

Click a technology to see all vulnerabilities affecting it.

PlatformPackageVulnerable versionsFixed in
npm package openclaw < 2026.2.2 2026.2.2

References

CVSS score 9.8/10
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Weakness (CWE)
CWE-306
Platform
npm
Package
openclaw
Disclosed
17.02.2026
Updated
11.10.2026 10:22

Sources and licenses

OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-rv39-79c4-7459 - CC BY 4.0

Vulnerability history: openclaw

All published vulnerabilities of this package (npm package), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.

All (589) in the archive
Total entries
589
First → latest
02.2026 10.2026
Without a fix
9
Exploited in attacks
0

Severity breakdown

  • Critical 20
  • High 215
  • Medium 300
  • Low 54

Disclosures per year

  1. 2026: 589
Severity:
  1. OpenClaw's gateway connect could skip device identity checks when auth.token was present but not yet validated this entry
    Critical · 9.8 CVE-2026-28472 < 2026.2.2 2026.2.2
  2. High · 8.8 CVE-2026-53811 < 2026.5.7 2026.5.7
  3. High · 8.8 CVE-2026-53806 < 2026.5.12 2026.5.12
  4. High · 7.8 CVE-2026-53813 < 2026.4.25 2026.4.25
  5. High · 7.5 CVE-2026-53834 < 2026.4.27 2026.4.27
  6. Critical CVE-2026-34507 < 2026.4.29 2026.4.29
  7. High CVE-2026-53823 < 2026.5.3 2026.5.3
  8. High · 8.4 CVE-2026-53814 < 2026.5.20 2026.5.20
  9. High · 6.5 CVE-2026-53815 < 2026.5.19 2026.5.19
  10. High · 8.1 CVE-2026-53849 < 2026.5.7 2026.5.7
  11. High · 8.1 CVE-2026-53857 < 2026.5.3 2026.5.3
  12. High · 8.1 CVE-2026-53866 < 2026.5.12 2026.5.12
  13. High · 8.1 CVE-2026-53864 < 2026.5.26 2026.5.26
  14. Critical · 9.8 CVE-2026-44109 < 2026.4.15 2026.4.15
  15. Critical · 8.1 CVE-2026-43585 < 2026.4.15 2026.4.15
  16. High · 8.8 CVE-2026-43530 >= 2026.2.23, < 2026.4.12 2026.4.12
  17. High · 8.8 CVE-2026-42434 >= 2026.4.5, < 2026.4.10 2026.4.10
  18. High · 7.5 CVE-2026-42437 >= 2026.4.9, < 2026.4.10 2026.4.10
  19. High CVE-2026-41393 < 2026.3.31 2026.3.31
  20. Critical · 8.2 CVE-2026-41296 < 2026.3.31 2026.3.31
  21. High · 8.8 CVE-2026-41352 < 2026.3.31 2026.3.31
  22. High · 7.8 CVE-2026-41396 < 2026.3.31 2026.3.31
  23. High · 8.6 CVE-2026-35641 < 2026.3.24 2026.3.24
Show more (20) Showing 101 of 235

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