Vulnerability · Published May 6, 2026 · Assigned by VulnCheck

CVE-2026-44114OpenClaw < 2026.4.20 - Environment Variable Namespace Collision via Workspace dotenv

High 7.8

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 0.1% (higher than 3% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.

Severity (CVSS 3.1)7.8High

Exploit odds (30 days)0.1%top 97.4% of all CVEs

Exploited in the wildNo reportsCISA SSVC: none

Attack toolingNoneno public tooling known

Official description

OpenClaw before 2026.4.20 fails to properly reserve the OPENCLAW_ runtime-control environment namespace in workspace dotenv files, allowing attackers to override critical runtime variables. Malicious workspaces can set variables like OPENCLAW_GIT_DIR to manipulate trusted OpenClaw runtime behavior during source-update or installer flows.

Affected packages & fixed versions

Ecosystem	Package	Fixed in	Advisory
npm	openclaw	2026.4.20	GHSA-hxvm-xjvf-93f3

Affected products (as reported)

Vendor	Product	Versions
OpenClaw	OpenClaw	0 – before 2026.4.20

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

References

GitHub Security Advisory (GHSA-hxvm-xjvf-93f3) vendor-advisory
Patch Commit patch
VulnCheck Advisory: OpenClaw < 2026.4.20 - Environment Variable Namespace Collision via Workspace dotenv third-party-advisory