Security Digest · Vulnerability record
CVE-2026-32916: OpenClaw: Plugin subagent routes could bypass gateway authorization with synthetic admin scopes
OpenClaw versions 2026.3.7 before 2026.3.11 contain an authorization bypass vulnerability where plugin subagent routes execute gateway methods through a synthetic operator client with broad administrative scopes.
CVSS 9.2 Critical EPSS 0.6% · p50
Should you act?
Critical and remotely reachable
No known exploitation yet, but it is network-reachable without credentials. This signal is computed from CISA KEV, EPSS and CVSS data; it is not an editorial verdict.
- No confirmed exploitation. It is not in CISA’s KEV catalog and CISA’s SSVC assessment records no known exploitation. That can change quickly after a public write-up; re-check if you are affected.
- EPSS 0.6%, percentile 50: FIRST’s model estimates a 0.6% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 50% of all scored CVEs (low). EPSS is a probability, not a verdict.
- Remotely reachable with no login and no user interaction. If the vulnerable service is exposed to the internet, prioritize it.
- Only applies if your dependency tree includes
openclaw(npm) >= 2026.3.7, < 2026.3.11, fixed in 2026.3.11. Check your lockfile, including transitive dependencies.
What it is
OpenClaw versions 2026.3.7 before 2026.3.11 contain an authorization bypass vulnerability where plugin subagent routes execute gateway methods through a synthetic operator client with broad administrative scopes. Remote unauthenticated requests to plugin-owned routes can invoke runtime.subagent methods to perform privileged gateway actions including session deletion and agent execution.
From the GitHub advisory
Summary In affected versions of openclaw, the plugin subagent runtime dispatched gateway methods through a synthetic operator client that always carried broad administrative scopes. Plugin-owned HTTP routes using auth: "plugin" could therefore trigger admin-only gateway actions without normal gateway authorization.
Impact This is a critical authorization bypass. An external unauthenticated request to a plugin-owned route could reach privileged subagent runtime methods and perform admin-only gateway actions such as deleting sessions, reading session data, or triggering agent execution.
Affected Packages and Versions - Package: openclaw (npm) - Affected versions: >= 2026.3.7,
Technical Details The new plugin subagent runtime preserved neither the original caller's auth context nor least-privilege scope. Instead, it executed gateway dispatches through a fabricated operator client with administrative scopes, which was reachable from plugin-owned routes that intentionally bypass normal gateway auth so plugins can perform their own webhook verification.
Fix OpenClaw now preserves real authorization boundaries for plugin subagent calls instead of dispatching them through synthetic admin scopes. The fix shipped in openclaw@2026.3.11.
Weakness type: CWE-266, CWE-269, CWE-285.
Product: openclaw (npm) · Assigned by: VulnCheck · Published: 2026-03-31
Affected and fixed versions
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable | First fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| npm | openclaw | >= 2026.3.7, < 2026.3.11 | 2026.3.11 |
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions (per CVE record) |
|---|---|---|
| OpenClaw | OpenClaw | 2026.3.7 < 2026.3.11 |
Severity scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| VulnCheck | 4.0 | 9.2 Critical | CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N |
| VulnCheck | 3.1 | 9.4 Critical | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L |
| GitHub | 3.1 | 9.4 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L |
- Attack vector: network (remotely reachable)
- Attack complexity: low
- Attack requirements: present (depends on deployment conditions)
- Privileges required: none (no login)
- User interaction: none
CVSS measures how bad a flaw is if exploited, not how likely exploitation is. Read it next to the exploitation data below.
Exploitation and urgency
- CISA KEV: not listed (no confirmed in-the-wild exploitation known to CISA).
- CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation none, automatable no, technical impact total.
- FIRST EPSS (model of 2026-10-21): 0.63% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 50.
Timeline
- — GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-xw77-45gv-p728 published (critical)
- — CVE record published by VulnCheck
- — CVE record last updated
Sources and references
Original sources first. Version and fix details should always be confirmed against the vendor or project advisory.
Vendor and project advisories, patches
Vulnerability records
- GitHub Advisory GHSA-xw77-45gv-p728 github.com
- CVE.org record CVE-2026-32916 cve.org
- NVD entry CVE-2026-32916 nvd.nist.gov