CVE-2026-32043
OpenClaw's system.run approval TOCTOU via mutable symlink cwd target on node host
Impact
### Summary In `openclaw@2026.2.24`, approval-bound `system.run` on node hosts could be influenced by mutable symlink `cwd` targets between approval and execution. ### Details Approval matching on the gateway validated command/argv and binding fields, including `cwd`, as provided text. Node execution later used runtime `cwd` resolution. A symlinked `cwd` could therefore be retargeted after approval and before spawn. OpenClaw's trust model does not treat one shared gateway as a multi-tenant adversarial boundary, but approval integrity is still a security boundary for operator-reviewed command execution. ### Affected Packages / Versions - Package: `openclaw` (npm) - Affected: `<= 2026.2.24` - Patched: `>= 2026.2.25` ### Fix Commit(s) - `f789f880c934caa8be25b38832f27f90f37903db` ### Remediation The fix adds defense-in-depth hardening for approval-bound node execution: - reject symlink `cwd` paths for approval-bound `system.run` - canonicalize path-like executable argv before spawn - bind CLI approval requests to exact `commandArgv` ### Release Process Note Patched version is pre-set to the release (`2026.2.25`). Advisory published with npm release `2026.2.25`. OpenClaw thanks @tdjackey for reporting.
Affected packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| npm | openclaw | <= 2026.2.24 | 2026.2.25 |
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions |
|---|---|---|
| Openclaw | Openclaw | before 2026.2.25 |
Weakness classification
References
- NVD record
- CVE.org record
- GitHub advisory
- https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/f789f880c934caa8be25b38832f27f90f37903db
- https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-mwcg-wfq3-4gjc
- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-time-of-check-time-of-use-via-mutable-symlink-in-system-run-cwd-parameter
- https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-mwcg-wfq3-4gjc
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-32043