CVE-2026-53816
highpriority · track · 0OT risk · elevatedEPSS 0.003 · 28 %ileDEEUUSEPSS · scored 2026-10-27
OpenClaw before 2026.5.18 contains an insufficient provenance validation vulnerability in node event handling that allows paired nodes to forge exec lifecycle events without system.run authorization. A malicious or compromised paired node can send crafted node.event messages to the gateway, steering target sessions into exec-event paths that expose capabilities the reduced node surface should not provide.
cvss
Technical severity, 0–10. One row per scoring source.
base score 0–10 · higher = more severe · hover a vector to decode⚠ sources disagree · medium–high · 6.1–8.6
ssvc
A stakeholder decision — act, attend, or track — from exploitation and impact.
weaknesses
The CWE weakness classes this flaw belongs to.
affected products (4)
Products and version ranges known to be affected.
advisories (2)
Vendor and ecosystem advisories describing this.
- WID-SEC-W-2026-1738OpenClaw: Mehrere SchwachstellenDeutsch2026-05-28csaf · cert_bundDE
Ein entfernter, authentisierter Angreifer kann mehrere Schwachstellen in OpenClaw ausnutzen, um Sicherheitsmechanismen zu umgehen, erhöhte Berechtigungen zu erlangen, Informationen offenzulegen, Konfigurationen zu manipulieren, beliebige Befehle oder Code auszuführen sowie interne Systeme über SSRF anzugreifen.
- GHSA-3c6j-hq33-3jv4OpenClaw: Paired nodes could forge exec lifecycle events without system.run provenance2026-07-02ghsa · osvUS
### Summary OpenClaw nodes send lifecycle events back to the gateway. In affected releases, a paired node could send an exec lifecycle event that was accepted without enough provenance tying it to an authorized `system.run` request. This issue affects the node event boundary. It does not allow an unauthenticated caller to reach the gateway; the attacker must already control a paired node connection. ### Affected configurations This affects deployments with a paired node where that node can send crafted `node.event` messages to the gateway and the target agent/session can process exec lifecycle events. ### Impact A malicious or compromised paired node could make the gateway treat attacker-supplied event data as an exec lifecycle result. In the vulnerable flow, that could steer the target session into an exec-event path that exposed capabilities the reduced node surface should not have provided. The issue is a missing provenance check for node-originated lifecycle events. ### Patched Versions The first stable patched version is `2026.5.18`. ### Mitigations Upgrade to `openclaw@2026.5.18` or later. Pair nodes only from trusted environments, and remove/re-pair nodes that may have been compromised.
also known as (3)
Other names and identifiers for this entity.
sources
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references (6)
External citations — patches, advisories, analysis.
- https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/releasesPatchcnnvd
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-53816cnnvd
- https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-3c6j-hq33-3jv4enisa_euvd
- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-exec-lifecycle-event-forgery-via-paired-nodeenisa_euvd
- https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-3c6j-hq33-3jv4MitigationVendor Advisorynvd
- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-exec-lifecycle-event-forgery-via-paired-nodeThird Party Advisorynvd
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