GHSA-q8ff-7ffm-m3r9 — medium GitHub Advisory (CVE-2026-45005) in npm/openclaw

Description

Summary

OpenClaw webhooks allowed route secrets to be backed by SecretRef values, but cached the resolved secret for a route. After an operator rotated the underlying secret and ran openclaw secrets reload, the previous resolved webhook secret could remain valid until the plugin or gateway restarted.

Impact

An attacker who already had a previously valid webhook route secret could continue authenticating webhook requests after the operator rotated the secret and reloaded secrets. This weakened credential rotation for webhook routes and could allow continued invocation of the configured webhook task flow until restart.

Affected Packages / Versions

Package: openclaw on npm
Affected: versions before 2026.4.23
Fixed: 2026.4.23
Latest stable verified fixed: [email protected], tag v2026.4.23

Fix

Webhook route authentication now resolves SecretRef-backed route secrets on each request. A rotated secret becomes effective after openclaw secrets reload without requiring a gateway or plugin restart, and the old secret is rejected.

Fix Commit(s)

36c4a372a0ad5dca8bfc0d93f7aab9c2f2de66fa (fix(webhooks): reload route secrets per request)

Severity

Severity remains medium. The attack requires possession of a previously valid route secret, but the stale credential can continue to authorize webhook actions after rotation.

Basic information

Type: reviewed
Severity: medium
Advisory on GitHub: Open advisory ↗
Repository advisory: Open repository advisory ↗
Source code: Browse source ↗
Published (advisory): 2026-05-05 18:42:51 UTC
Updated: 2026-05-19 15:56:43 UTC
GitHub reviewed: 2026-05-05 18:42:51 UTC

Score	Percentile
0.06%	17.47%

CVSS Scores

Base score	Version	Severity	Vector
6.0	3.1	—	`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:L` 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:L) Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup. Privileges required (PR:H) They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off. 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:H) They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt. Availability (A:L) Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.

Identifiers

Type	Value
GHSA	GHSA-q8ff-7ffm-m3r9 ↗
CVE	CVE-2026-45005 ↗

CWEs

CWE id	Name
CWE-613	Insufficient Session Expiration

Credits

feynman-hou (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	< 2026.4.23	2026.4.23	—

OpenClaw's Webhooks SecretRef route secret remains valid after rotation/reload