GHSA-hxvm-xjvf-93f3 — high GitHub Advisory (CVE-2026-44114) in npm/openclaw

Description

Affected Packages / Versions

Package: openclaw (npm)
Affected versions: < 2026.4.20
Patched version: 2026.4.20

Impact

Workspace .env loading did not reserve the OPENCLAW_ runtime-control namespace broadly enough. A malicious workspace could set variables such as OPENCLAW_GIT_DIR before source-update or installer flows, potentially steering trusted OpenClaw runtime behavior.

This requires running OpenClaw from an attacker-controlled workspace. Severity is medium.

Fix

OpenClaw now reserves the workspace OPENCLAW_ environment namespace and rejects workspace dotenv entries for OpenClaw runtime-control variables.

Fix commit:

018494fa3ebb9145112e68b56fe1cb2e9f9a9ed6

Release

Fixed in OpenClaw 2026.4.20.

Basic information

Type: reviewed
Severity: high
Advisory on GitHub: Open advisory ↗
Repository advisory: Open repository advisory ↗
Source code: Browse source ↗
Published (advisory): 2026-04-25 23:47:05 UTC
Updated: 2026-05-12 13:36:44 UTC
GitHub reviewed: 2026-04-25 23:47:05 UTC

Score	Percentile
0.02%	6.40%

CVSS Scores

Base score	Version	Severity	Vector
7.8	3.1	—	`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:L) They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by. Attack complexity (AC:L) Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup. Privileges required (PR:N) No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough. User interaction (UI:R) A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land. Scope (S:U) Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems. Confidentiality (C:H) Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way. Integrity (I:H) They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt. Availability (A:H) Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
8.5	4.0	—	`CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:L) Attacker needs local access on the target system. 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:P) A user has to participate (for example click/open/approve). Vulnerable system confidentiality impact (VC:H) High confidentiality impact on the vulnerable system. Vulnerable system integrity impact (VI:H) High integrity impact on the vulnerable system. Vulnerable system availability impact (VA:H) High 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-hxvm-xjvf-93f3 ↗
CVE	CVE-2026-44114 ↗

CWEs

CWE id	Name
CWE-184	Incomplete List of Disallowed Inputs

Credits

foodlook (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	< 2026.4.20	2026.4.20	—

OpenClaw: Workspace dotenv could override runtime-control environment variables