OpenClaw exec approvals: safeBins could bypass stdin-only constraints via shell expansion

Exploitation

No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.

CVSS 4.0

8.6 · CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N · score source

EPSS

• CVE-2026-28463: 0.19% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 9.19 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Summary OpenClaw's exec-approvals allowlist supports a small set of "safe bins" intended to be stdin-only (no positional file arguments) when running tools.exec.host=gateway|node with security=allowlist. In affected configurations, the allowlist validation checked pre-expansion argv tokens, but execution used a real shell (sh -c) which expands globs and environment variables. This allowed safe bins like head, tail, or grep to read arbitrary local files via tokens such as or $HOME/... without triggering approvals. This issue is configuration-dependent and is not exercised by default settings (default tools.exec.host is sandbox). Affected Packages / Versions - Package: openclaw (npm) - Affected: <= 2026.2.13 - Patched: = 2026.2.14 (planned; publish the advisory after the npm release is out) Impact An authorized but untrusted caller (or prompt-injection) could cause the gateway/node process to disclose files readable by that process when host execution is enabled in allowlist mode. Fix…

Published by the source

18 Feb 2026, 00:50 UTC

Last modified by the source

6 Mar 2026, 01:16 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 12:43 UTC

1. Revision 3 · amended · 26 Oct 2026

   Amended from ghsa record GHSA-xvhf-x56f-2hpp

2. Revision 2 · amended · 25 Oct 2026

   Reviewed OSV alias/range/CVSS4 correction; package source scopes and original publication preserved. No customer finding resolved.

3. Revision 1 · created · 24 Oct 2026

   Published from osv record GHSA-xvhf-x56f-2hpp

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2026-28463

Advisory: OpenClaw exec approvals: safeBins could bypass stdin-only constraints via shell expansion
IDs: CVE-2026-28463, GHSA-xvhf-x56f-2hpp
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2026-28463 (revision 3, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 12:43 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: High (CVSS 8.6)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: openclaw 2026.2.14. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- npm openclaw: affected < 2026.2.14; fixed in 2026.2.14

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- `npm ls openclaw --all`: lists every installed copy and version, including transitive ones. Run in the project root after `npm ci`.

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on openclaw.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-xvhf-x56f-2hpp (OSV record GHSA-xvhf-x56f-2hpp lists affected ranges: npm openclaw >=0 <2026.2.14 (fixed))
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-xvhf-x56f-2hpp (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-xvhf-x56f-2hpp lists affected ranges: npm openclaw >=0 <2026.2.14)

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