GHSA-hw9r-h9mr-4jff OpenClaw: Scoped chat.send route inheritance could bypass admin command scope gates

• npm openclaw: < 2026.5.18 → fixed in 2026.5.18

Summary Some internal command handlers require `operator.approvals` or `operator.admin` scopes. In affected releases, a scoped Gateway `chat.send` request delivered through an inherited external route could be evaluated as an external-channel command while still carrying the lower Gateway client scopes. This issue affects scoped Gateway clients. It does not apply to shared-secret bearer HTTP compatibility endpoints, which are documented as full operator surfaces under OpenClaw's trust model. Affected configurations This affects deployments where a scoped Gateway caller with `operator.write` can use `chat.send` with delivery into a session that has an inherited external delivery route. Impact Commands that should have required `operator.approvals` or `operator.admin` could run with only `operator.write` in this routed context. Affected command families included approval resolution and selected administrative commands such as plugin, config, MCP, allowlist, and ACP mutations. Patched Versions The first stable patched version is `2026.5.18`. Mitigations Upgrade to `[email protected]` or later. Before upgrading, avoid granting `operator.write` tokens to clients that can deliver commands into sessions with external routes unless those clients are trusted with admin-like command effects.