Vulnerability · Published May 11, 2026 · Assigned by VulnCheck

CVE-2026-44995OpenClaw < 2026.4.20 - Arbitrary Code Execution via MCP stdio Environment Variables

High 7.3

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)7.3High

Exploit odds (30 days)0.1%top 96.9% of all CVEs

Exploited in the wildNo reportsCISA SSVC: none

Attack toolingNoneno public tooling known

Official description

OpenClaw before 2026.4.20 contains an improper environment variable validation vulnerability in MCP stdio server configuration that allows attackers to execute arbitrary code. Malicious workspace configurations can pass dangerous startup variables like NODE_OPTIONS, LD_PRELOAD, or BASH_ENV to spawned MCP server processes, enabling code injection when operators start sessions using those servers.

Affected packages & fixed versions

Ecosystem	Package	Fixed in	Advisory
npm	openclaw	2026.4.20	GHSA-mj59-h3q9-ghfh

Affected products (as reported)

Vendor	Product	Versions
OpenClaw	OpenClaw	0 – before 2026.4.20

Weakness: CWE-829 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

References

GitHub Security Advisory (GHSA-mj59-h3q9-ghfh) vendor-advisory
Patch Commit (1) patch
Patch Commit (2) patch
VulnCheck Advisory: OpenClaw < 2026.4.20 - Arbitrary Code Execution via MCP stdio Environment Variables third-party-advisory