Vulnerability · Published May 5, 2026 · Assigned by VulnCheck

CVE-2026-42435OpenClaw 2026.2.22 < 2026.4.12 - Shell-Wrapper Detection Bypass via Environment Variable Assignment Injection

High 8.8

In plain English

A high-severity security flaw in OpenClaw from OpenClaw. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.4% (higher than 35% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.

Severity (CVSS 3.1)8.8High

Exploit odds (30 days)0.4%top 64.8% of all CVEs

Exploited in the wildNo reportsCISA SSVC: none

Attack toolingNoneno public tooling known

Official description

OpenClaw versions from 2026.2.22 before 2026.4.12 contain an insufficient shell-wrapper detection vulnerability allowing attackers to inject environment variable assignments at the argv level. Attackers can bypass exec preflight handling to manipulate high-risk shell variables like SHELLOPTS and PS4, affecting execution semantics and security controls.

Affected packages & fixed versions

Ecosystem	Package	Fixed in	Advisory
npm	openclaw	2026.4.12	GHSA-j6c7-3h5x-99g9

Affected products (as reported)

Vendor	Product	Versions
OpenClaw	OpenClaw	2026.2.22 – before 2026.4.12

Weakness: CWE-184 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

References

GitHub Security Advisory (GHSA-j6c7-3h5x-99g9) vendor-advisory
Patch Commit patch
VulnCheck Advisory: OpenClaw 2026.2.22 < 2026.4.12 - Shell-Wrapper Detection Bypass via Environment Variable Assignment Injection third-party-advisory