Executive brief
OpenClaw, a plugin-based development tool, is vulnerable to a security flaw where it may execute malicious code from the current folder. If a user is tricked into running OpenClaw commands inside a directory containing a specially crafted file, an attacker could gain full control over the user's account and data. This could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive information or the installation of malware on the user's system.
Technical details
OpenClaw before version 2026.4.23 contains an uncontrolled search path vulnerability (CWE-427) in its bundled plugin setup resolver. The component incorrectly falls back to the current working directory (process.cwd()) when resolving provider setup metadata, specifically looking for a file named 'setup-api.js'. An attacker can achieve arbitrary code execution under the context of the current user by placing a malicious 'extensions/<plugin>/setup-api.js' file in a repository and inducing a user to execute OpenClaw commands (such as provider/model inspection) from that directory. The vulnerability is fixed in version 2026.4.23 by restricting setup resolution to the canonical package root.
Affected products
- OpenClaw openclaw < 2026.4.23
Timeline
- 2026-04-24: advisory: Original GHSA-r39h-4c2p-3jxp published
- 2026-05-11: disclosed: NVD publication of CVE-2026-45004
- 2026-05-18: patched: Duplicate advisory GHSA-xpr6-2hgm-4wwp withdrawn in favor of original