GHSA-r39h-4c2p-3jxpHighCVSS 7.8
OpenClaw vulnerable to arbitrary code execution via attacker-controlled setup-api.js loaded from cwd during env-key resolution
🔗 CVE IDs covered (1)
📋 Description
## Summary
OpenClaw's bundled plugin setup resolver could fall back to `process.cwd()` while resolving provider setup metadata. If a user ran an OpenClaw command from an attacker-controlled repository containing `extensions/<plugin>/setup-api.js`, OpenClaw could load and execute that JavaScript during ordinary provider/model status resolution.
## Impact
This is arbitrary JavaScript execution in the OpenClaw process under the current user account. A malicious repository could run code when the user executed commands such as provider/model inspection from that directory. The issue does not require gateway network exposure, but it does require user interaction: the user must run OpenClaw from a directory containing the attacker-controlled setup file.
## Affected Packages / Versions
- Package: `openclaw` on npm
- Affected: versions before `2026.4.23`
- Fixed: `2026.4.23`
- Latest stable verified fixed: `openclaw@2026.4.23`, tag `v2026.4.23`
## Fix
OpenClaw now resolves bundled setup fallbacks only from the canonical package/repository root and no longer includes `process.cwd()` as a trusted setup-api search root. A regression test verifies that a workspace-local `extensions/<plugin>/setup-api.js` is not loaded through provider setup resolution.
## Fix Commit(s)
- `993781e6e6eaf50f033cfc3e3bf4f47059740707` (`fix(plugins): ignore cwd setup-api fallback`)
## Severity
Severity remains `high` because successful exploitation allows arbitrary code execution under the user running OpenClaw. The CVSS vector is local/user-interaction scoped rather than network-only because the victim must run OpenClaw from an attacker-controlled directory.
🎯 Affected products1
- npm/openclaw:< 2026.4.23
🔗 References (5)
- https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-r39h-4c2p-3jxp
- https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/993781e6e6eaf50f033cfc3e3bf4f47059740707
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-45004
- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-arbitrary-code-execution-via-setup-api-js-in-current-working-directory
- https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-r39h-4c2p-3jxp