OpenClaw: Config writes could persist resolved ${VAR} secrets to disk

CVE-2026-28475 → View on GitHub ↗ View on CVE.org ↗ View on NVD ↗

Description

Summary

OpenClaw hooks previously compared the provided hook token using a regular string comparison. Because this comparison is not constant-time, an attacker with network access to the hooks endpoint could potentially use timing measurements across many requests to gradually infer the token.

In practice, this typically requires hooks to be exposed to an untrusted network and a large number of requests; real-world latency and jitter can make reliable measurement difficult.

Affected Packages / Versions

  • openclaw (npm): < 2026.2.12

Patched Versions

  • openclaw (npm): >= 2026.2.12

Mitigations

  • Upgrade to openclaw >= 2026.2.12.
  • If users cannot upgrade immediately: restrict network access to the hooks endpoint and rotate the hooks token after updating.

Fix Commit(s)

  • 113ebfd6a23c4beb8a575d48f7482593254506ec

OpenClaw thanks @akhmittra for reporting.

Basic information

Type
reviewed
Severity
medium
Advisory on GitHub
Open advisory ↗
Repository advisory
Open repository advisory ↗
Source code
Browse source ↗
Published (advisory)
2026-03-02 22:43:10 UTC
Updated
2026-03-06 01:05:10 UTC
GitHub reviewed
2026-03-02 22:43:10 UTC
NVD published
2026-03-05

EPSS Score

Score Percentile
0.13% 32.80%

CVSS Scores

Base score Version Severity Vector
4.8 3.1 —
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:L)
Some sensitive info could get out, but not a total data dump.
Integrity (I:L)
Attackers could change some data, but it’s limited—not everything goes.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
6.9 4.0 —
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and stable.
Attack requirements (AT:N)
No additional preconditions are required beyond normal reachability.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No privileges are required.
User interaction (UI:N)
No user interaction is required.
Vulnerable system confidentiality impact (VC:L)
Limited confidentiality impact on the vulnerable system.
Vulnerable system integrity impact (VI:N)
No integrity impact on the vulnerable system.
Vulnerable system availability impact (VA:N)
No availability impact on the vulnerable system.
Subsequent system confidentiality impact (SC:N)
No confidentiality impact on subsequent systems.
Subsequent system integrity impact (SI:N)
No integrity impact on subsequent systems.
Subsequent system availability impact (SA:N)
No availability impact on subsequent systems.

Identifiers

Type Value
GHSA GHSA-47q7-97xp-m272 ↗
CVE CVE-2026-28475 ↗

CWEs

CWE id Name
CWE-208 Observable Timing Discrepancy

Credits

  • Abeyron (reporter)

Affected packages (1)

Vulnerable version ranges and first patched releases as published by GitHub.

Ecosystem Package Vulnerable range First patched Vulnerable functions
npm openclaw < 2026.2.13 2026.2.13 —

References

cvelogic Threat Intelligence