OpenClaw's owner-only gateway tool access checks were incomplete in specific authenticated DM flows
Summary
In authenticated non-owner DM sessions, a narrow tool-invocation path could reach broader-than-intended owner-only gateway actions.
Impact
This requires an authenticated non-owner sender in a DM session and a specific tool invocation path. No unauthenticated access is involved, and this does not provide direct code execution by itself.
Root Cause
- Some gateway call paths were still using broader default scopes instead of method-level least-privilege scopes.
- Owner-only enforcement depended on tool-name checks and was not consistently metadata-driven across all call paths.
Affected Packages / Versions
- Package:
openclaw(npm) - Affected:
<= 2026.2.17(latest published npm version as of February 19, 2026) - Patched:
2026.2.19
Remediation
- Refactored gateway method scope mapping to a data-driven table and added guard tests to ensure all exposed core gateway methods stay classified.
- Centralized owner-only enforcement in tool policy wrappers and tool metadata.
- Marked owner-only tools explicitly (
cron,gateway,whatsapp_login) and removed duplicated per-tool owner checks. - Refactored gateway call path internals into smaller helpers while preserving behavior and coverage.
Fix Commit(s)
a40c10d3e24568b1e2947c104484be74bf66b8d22777d8ad91ef1e8a7c6f5b4b18f8507be7d029143d7ad1cfca4daaa84cd553e843e0e08fa6201349
OpenClaw thanks @Adam55A-code for reporting.
Affected software
Click a technology to see all vulnerabilities affecting it.
| Platform | Package | Vulnerable versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| npm package | openclaw | < 2026.2.19 | 2026.2.19 |
References
- https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-2hm8-rqrm-xfjq
- https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/2777d8ad91ef1e8a7c6f5b4b18f8507be7d02914
- https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/3d7ad1cfca4daaa84cd553e843e0e08fa6201349
- https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/a40c10d3e24568b1e2947c104484be74bf66b8d2
- https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw
- CVSS vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N- Weakness (CWE)
CWE-269, CWE-863- Platform
- npm
- Package
openclaw- Disclosed
- 03.03.2026
- Updated
- 11.10.2026 10:22
Sources and licenses
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-2hm8-rqrm-xfjq - 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.
- Total entries
- 588
- First → latest
- 02.2026 07.2026
- Without a fix
- 9
- Exploited in attacks
- 0
Severity breakdown
- Critical 20
- High 215
- Medium 299
- Low 54
Disclosures per year
- 2026: 588
-
OpenClaw's owner-only gateway tool access checks were incomplete in specific authenticated DM flows this entry
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