Executive brief
OpenClaw is a popular Node.js library used in build and deployment pipelines. A local attacker who can control the shell environment can trick OpenClaw into executing an attacker-controlled shell command, potentially gaining code execution or exfiltrating sensitive data during the build process.
Technical details
OpenClaw's shell environment initialization code uses the SHELL environment variable without validating it points to a legitimate executable (CWE-78, CWE-426). The vulnerable code invokes `$SHELL -l -c 'env -0'` directly without sanitization. An attacker with local environment control—such as through a compromised parent process, CI/CD pipeline injection, or untrusted container startup environment—can set SHELL to an attacker-controlled path, leading to arbitrary command execution at the privileges of the OpenClaw process. The fix validates SHELL against /etc/shells, applies normalization checks, and safely falls back to /bin/sh on validation failure. Versions through 2026.2.21-2 are affected; patched in 2026.2.22.
Affected products
- OpenClaw openclaw <= 2026.2.21-2
Timeline
- 2026-03-03: disclosed: Advisory published on GitHub
- 2026-02-23: patched: Patch commit 25e89cc86338ef475d26be043aa541dfdb95e52a; planned release >= 2026.2.22