OpenClaw's avatar symlink traversal can expose out-of-workspace local files

CVE-2026-32024 → View on GitHub ↗ View on CVE.org ↗ View on NVD ↗

Description

Summary

OpenClaw avatar handling allowed a symlink traversal path that could expose local files outside an agent workspace through gateway avatar surfaces.

Affected Packages / Versions

  • Package: openclaw (npm)
  • Affected versions: <= 2026.2.21, plus prereleases 2026.2.21-1 and 2026.2.21-2
  • Latest published version at triage time (2026-02-22): 2026.2.21-2 (affected)
  • Planned patched version (pre-set for release workflow): 2026.2.22

Details

In vulnerable builds, local avatar resolution could follow symlinks and return file bytes from outside the configured workspace boundary.

The issue was hardened in two paths:
1. Gateway avatar metadata resolution now enforces canonical containment, O_NOFOLLOW, and fd/file-identity checks.
2. Control UI avatar serving now rejects symlink paths and enforces fd/file-identity and size checks before reads.

Fix Commit(s)

  • 3d0337504349954237d09e4d957df5cb844d5e77
  • 6970c2c2db3ee069ef0fff0ade5cfbdd0134f9d2

Release Process Note

patched_versions is pre-set to >= 2026.2.22 so after npm release, the remaining action is to publish this advisory.

Impact

Confidentiality impact only: local files readable by the OpenClaw process could be disclosed via avatar response surfaces.

OpenClaw thanks @tdjackey for reporting.

Basic information

Type
reviewed
Severity
medium
Advisory on GitHub
Open advisory ↗
Repository advisory
Open repository advisory ↗
Source code
Browse source ↗
Published (advisory)
2026-03-03 00:20:18 UTC
Updated
2026-03-20 21:37:00 UTC
GitHub reviewed
2026-03-03 00:20:18 UTC
NVD published
2026-03-19

EPSS Score

Score Percentile
0.04% 13.54%

CVSS Scores

Base score Version Severity Vector
5.5 3.1 —
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N 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:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
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:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
6.8 4.0 —
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X 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:L)
Low privileges are required.
User interaction (UI:N)
No user interaction is required.
Vulnerable system confidentiality impact (VC:H)
High 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.
Exploit maturity (threat) (E:X)
Not defined: no reliable threat intelligence; scoring assumes the worst case (equivalent to Attacked).
Confidentiality requirement (CR:X)
Not defined: insufficient information; scoring treats this like High (worst case).
Integrity requirement (IR:X)
Not defined: insufficient information; scoring treats this like High (worst case).
Availability requirement (AR:X)
Not defined: insufficient information; scoring treats this like High (worst case).
Modified attack vector (MAV:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base Attack Vector (AV).
Modified attack complexity (MAC:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base Attack Complexity (AC).
Modified attack requirements (MAT:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base Attack Requirements (AT).
Modified privileges required (MPR:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base Privileges Required (PR).
Modified user interaction (MUI:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base User Interaction (UI).
Modified vulnerable system confidentiality impact (MVC:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base VC metric.
Modified vulnerable system integrity impact (MVI:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base VI metric.
Modified vulnerable system availability impact (MVA:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base VA metric.
Modified subsequent system confidentiality impact (MSC:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base SC metric.
Modified subsequent system integrity impact (MSI:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base SI metric.
Modified subsequent system availability impact (MSA:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base SA metric.
Safety (supplemental) (S:X)
Not evaluated.
Automatable (supplemental) (AU:X)
Not evaluated.
Recovery (supplemental) (R:X)
Not evaluated.
Value density (supplemental) (V:X)
Not evaluated.
Vulnerability response effort (supplemental) (RE:X)
Not evaluated.
Provider urgency (supplemental) (U:X)
Not evaluated.

Identifiers

Type Value
GHSA GHSA-rx3g-mvc3-qfjf ↗
CVE CVE-2026-32024 ↗

CWEs

CWE id Name
CWE-22 Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
CWE-59 Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')

Credits

  • tdjackey (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 < 2026.2.22 2026.2.22 —

References

cvelogic Threat Intelligence