Executive brief
OpenClaw is a sandboxing tool that stages media files during processing. A symlink traversal vulnerability in the stageSandboxMedia function allows an attacker to overwrite files outside the intended sandbox workspace by following symbolic links during file writes. This could lead to unauthorized modification or corruption of host system files outside the sandbox boundary.
Technical details
The vulnerability is a symlink traversal (CWE-59) in OpenClaw's stageSandboxMedia function. The root cause is insufficient destination boundary validation: while source paths were validated, destination file writes used a direct copy path that did not enforce alias or symlink checks. When handling inbound media files under the media/inbound directory, if a symlink existed in the destination path, the write operation would follow it and overwrite files outside the sandbox workspace. The fix routes staging writes through root-scoped safe write primitives that prevent destination symlink traversal escapes. Patch version 2026.3.2 and later are available.
Affected products
- OpenClaw OpenClaw <= 2026.3.1
Timeline
- 2026-03-03: disclosed
- 2026-03-03: patched: Version 2026.3.2 released with fix