GHSA-45cg-2683-gfmq OpenClaw browser navigation guard allowed non-network URL schemes, enabling authenticated browser-tool users to access file:// local files

• npm openclaw: < 2026.2.21 → fixed in 2026.2.21

Impact `assertBrowserNavigationAllowed()` validated only `http:`/`https:` network targets but implicitly allowed other schemes. An authenticated gateway user could navigate browser sessions to `file://` URLs and read local files via browser snapshot/extraction flows. Affected Component • `src/browser/navigation-guard.ts` Technical Reproduction 1. Authenticate to a gateway that has browser tooling enabled. 2. Invoke browser navigation with a `file://` URL (for example `file:///etc/passwd`). 3. Read page content through browser snapshot/extract actions. Demonstrated Impact An attacker with valid gateway credentials and browser-tool access can exfiltrate local files readable by the OpenClaw process user (for example config/secrets in that user context). Environment • OpenClaw browser tool enabled • Attacker has authenticated access capable of invoking browser actions Remediation Advice Reject unsupported navigation schemes and allow only explicitly safe non-network URLs. OpenClaw now blocks non-network schemes (such as `file:`, `data:`, and `javascript:`) while preserving `about:blank`. Affected Packages / Versions • Package: `openclaw` (npm) • Affected versions: `<= 2026.2.19-2` • Patched in planned next release: `2026.2.21` Fix Commit(s) • `220bd95eff6838234e8b4b711f86d4565e16e401` Release Process Note `patched_versions` is pre-set to the planned next release (`2026.2.21`) so once npm `2026.2.21` is published, the advisory can be published directly. OpenClaw thanks @q1uf3ng for reporting.