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Medium, CVSS 6.9amended

OpenClaw has agent avatar symlink traversal in gateway session metadata

GHSA-9mph-4f7v-fmvh

What to do

Vendor fix available. Upgrade each affected package to the fixed version on its release line (openclaw 2026.2.22), redeploy, then verify what is actually installed.

This page has no inventory attached, so it cannot say whether you are affected. A vendor fix is not proof that your deployment is fixed.

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Affected packages

  • npm openclaw

    Affected
    < 2026.2.22
    Fixed in
    2026.2.22

Sources

Severity and exploitation
Exploitation
No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.
CVSS 4.0
6.9 · CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N · score source
EPSS
No dated EPSS signal available.
Source description

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Summary A crafted local avatar path could follow a symlink outside the agent workspace and return arbitrary file contents as a base64 data: URL in gateway responses. Impact - Confidentiality impact: local file read in the gateway process context. - Exfiltration path: agents.list can return the resulting avatarUrl payload. Affected Components - src/gateway/session-utils.ts (resolveIdentityAvatarUrl) Affected Packages / Versions - Package: openclaw (npm) - Introduced: v2026.1.21 - Affected published versions: <= 2026.2.21-2 - Planned patched version: 2026.2.22 Remediation - Resolve workspace and avatar paths with realpath and enforce realpath containment. - Open files with ONOFOLLOW when available. - Compare pre-open and opened file identity (dev/ino) to block swap races. - Add regression tests for outside-workspace symlink rejection and in-workspace symlink allowance. Fix Commit(s) - 3d0337504349954237d09e4d957df5cb844d5e77 OpenClaw thanks @aether-ai-agent for reporting.

Dates and revisions
Published by the source
Last modified by the source
Source last checked
  1. Revision 3 · amended ·

    Amended from ghsa record GHSA-9mph-4f7v-fmvh

  2. Revision 2 · amended ·

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

  3. Revision 1 · created ·

    Published from osv record GHSA-9mph-4f7v-fmvh

Agent brief

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# Patch Next advisory brief: GHSA-9mph-4f7v-fmvh

Advisory: OpenClaw has agent avatar symlink traversal in gateway session metadata
IDs: GHSA-9mph-4f7v-fmvh
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/ghsa-9mph-4f7v-fmvh (revision 3, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 12:42 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: Medium (CVSS 6.9)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: openclaw 2026.2.22. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- npm openclaw: affected < 2026.2.22; fixed in 2026.2.22

## 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-9mph-4f7v-fmvh (OSV record GHSA-9mph-4f7v-fmvh lists affected ranges: npm openclaw >=0 <2026.2.22 (fixed))
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-9mph-4f7v-fmvh (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-9mph-4f7v-fmvh lists affected ranges: npm openclaw >=0 <2026.2.22)

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