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OpenClaw: system.run allow-always persistence included shell-commented payload tails

Moderate severity GitHub Reviewed Published Mar 8, 2026 in openclaw/openclaw • Updated Mar 9, 2026

Package

npm openclaw (npm)

Affected versions

<= 2026.3.2

Patched versions

2026.3.7

Description

OpenClaw's system.run allowlist analysis did not honor POSIX shell comment semantics when deriving allow-always persistence entries.

A caller in security=allowlist mode who received an allow-always decision could submit a shell command whose tail was commented out at runtime, for example by using an unquoted # before a chained payload. The runtime shell would execute only the pre-comment portion, but allowlist persistence could still analyze and store the non-executed tail as a trusted follow-up command.

Latest published npm version: 2026.3.2

Fixed on main on March 7, 2026 in 939b18475d734ed75173f59507e3ebbdfe1992b7 by teaching shell tokenization and chain/pipeline analysis to stop at unquoted shell comments, so allow-always persistence now tracks only commands that the shell can actually execute. Normal real chained commands and quoted # literals continue to work.

Affected Packages / Versions

  • Package: openclaw (npm)
  • Affected versions: <= 2026.3.2
  • Patched version: >= 2026.3.7

Fix Commit(s)

  • 939b18475d734ed75173f59507e3ebbdfe1992b7

Release Process Note

npm 2026.3.7 was published on March 8, 2026. This advisory is fixed in the released package.

Thanks @tdjackey for reporting.

References

@steipete steipete published to openclaw/openclaw Mar 8, 2026
Published to the GitHub Advisory Database Mar 9, 2026
Reviewed Mar 9, 2026
Last updated Mar 9, 2026

Severity

Moderate

CVSS overall score

This score calculates overall vulnerability severity from 0 to 10 and is based on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS).
/ 10

CVSS v3 base metrics

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
High
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
Low

CVSS v3 base metrics

Attack vector: More severe the more the remote (logically and physically) an attacker can be in order to exploit the vulnerability.
Attack complexity: More severe for the least complex attacks.
Privileges required: More severe if no privileges are required.
User interaction: More severe when no user interaction is required.
Scope: More severe when a scope change occurs, e.g. one vulnerable component impacts resources in components beyond its security scope.
Confidentiality: More severe when loss of data confidentiality is highest, measuring the level of data access available to an unauthorized user.
Integrity: More severe when loss of data integrity is the highest, measuring the consequence of data modification possible by an unauthorized user.
Availability: More severe when the loss of impacted component availability is highest.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L

EPSS score

Weaknesses

Interpretation Conflict

Product A handles inputs or steps differently than Product B, which causes A to perform incorrect actions based on its perception of B's state. Learn more on MITRE.

Incorrect Authorization

The product performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action, but it does not correctly perform the check. Learn more on MITRE.

CVE ID

No known CVE

GHSA ID

GHSA-9q2p-vc84-2rwm

Source code

Credits

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