Executive brief
OpenClaw is a popular open-source automation and skill management framework. A vulnerability in the skill download installation feature allowed attackers with admin privileges to write files outside the intended installation directory by manipulating the target directory path. This could lead to unauthorized file placement on the system, potentially compromising system integrity.
Technical details
The vulnerability is a path traversal (CWE-73) bug in the skill installation flow that failed to properly validate targetDir values from skill frontmatter metadata. An attacker with admin privileges could craft malicious skill frontmatter to resolve paths outside the per-skill tools directory sandbox, allowing arbitrary file writes during the skills.install operation. The attack requires admin authentication and occurs in the admin-only installation flow. The vulnerability affects OpenClaw versions <= 2026.2.14 and is fixed in version 2026.2.15 via commits that restrict skill download target paths.
Affected products
- OpenClaw OpenClaw <=2026.2.14
Timeline
- 2026-02-18: disclosed
- 2026-02-15: patched: Fixed in version 2026.2.15