Executive brief
OpenClaw is a browser automation and testing platform that includes an optional Chrome extension relay for remote communication. The /extension endpoint on the local relay server accepted unauthenticated connections, while other endpoints required authentication, allowing any local process to interfere with extension relay operations without authorization.
Technical details
The vulnerability is an authentication bypass (CWE-306) in the Browser Extension Relay implementation. The /extension WebSocket endpoint accepted unauthenticated upgrades while other relay endpoints (/json/*, /cdp) enforced gateway token authentication. This is a local-only issue on loopback (127.0.0.1) that only manifests when the optional extension relay feature is enabled. An unauthenticated local process could connect to /extension and interfere with extension relay behavior. The fix requires enforcing gateway-token authentication on both /extension and /cdp endpoints, with loopback/origin checks retained as defense-in-depth rather than primary authentication. Patch available in version 2026.2.19 and later.
Affected products
- OpenClaw OpenClaw <=2026.2.17
Timeline
- 2026-03-03: disclosed
- 2026-02-19: patched: Fix commit 7e54b6c96feb1a5c30884f2b32037b8dadd0e532 targeting version 2026.2.19