GitHub Advisoryadvisory · npm

GHSA-jhpv-5j76-m56h OpenClaw: Sender policy bypass in host media attachment reads allows unauthorized local file disclosure

MEDIUM Published 2026-04-17 Modified 2026-05-05 Official page ↗
Aliases
CVE-2026-42438
Ecosystem
npm
Packages
openclaw
Severity
Moderate
CVSS vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Weaknesses
CWE-863
Reviewed
2026-04-17

Affected packages

• npm openclaw: >= 2026.4.9, < 2026.4.10 → fixed in 2026.4.10

Description

Summary OpenClaw's outbound host-media attachment read helper could enable host-local file reads based on global or agent-level read access without also honoring sender and group-scoped tool policy. In channel deployments that used `toolsBySender` or group policy to deny `read` for less-trusted senders, a denied sender could still trigger host-media attachment loading and cause readable local files to be returned through the outbound media path. Affected Versions This issue is known to affect OpenClaw 2026.4.9. Earlier versions were not confirmed during triage, so the advisory range is intentionally scoped to `>= 2026.4.9 < 2026.4.10`. Impact Affected deployments are those that both allow host read or filesystem root expansion at the global/agent level and rely on sender or group-scoped policy to deny `read` for some channel participants. In that configuration, the intended sender/group authorization boundary could be bypassed for outbound media reads, potentially disclosing host-local files readable by the OpenClaw process. The issue does not require treating the model prompt as the security boundary. The vulnerable behavior was a concrete policy enforcement mismatch: sender/group policy denied `read`, while the host-media read helper could still be installed without that sender context. Resolution Fixed in OpenClaw 2026.4.10 by PR #64459, commit `c949af9fabf3873b5b7c484090cb5f5ab6049a98`. The fix threads sender, session, channel, and account context into outbound media access resolution and intersects host-media read capability creation with the existing group tool policy for `read`. When a concrete sender/group override denies `read`, OpenClaw no longer creates the host `readFile` media capability. Additional attachment canonicalization hardening shipped in 2026.4.14, but the authorization bypass described here was fixed in 2026.4.10. Credit Thanks to @Telecaster2147 for reporting this issue.

Related

Alias · CVE (1)

  • CVE-2026-42438 OpenClaw versions 2026.4.9 before 2026.4.10 contain a sender policy bypass vulnerability in the outbound host-media attachment read helper… vulnerability

Weakness · CWE (1)

  • CWE-863 Incorrect Authorization weakness

References