Vulnerability · Published Mar 20, 2026 · Assigned by VulnCheck

CVE-2026-22172OpenClaw < 2026.3.12 - Scope Elevation in WebSocket Shared-Auth Connections

Critical 9.9

In plain English

A critical-severity missing authorization 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 0.6% (higher than 48% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.

Severity (CVSS 3.1)9.9Critical

Exploit odds (30 days)0.6%top 51.9% of all CVEs

Exploited in the wildNo reportsCISA SSVC: none

Attack toolingNoneno public tooling known

Official description

OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.3.12 contain an authorization bypass vulnerability in the WebSocket connect path that allows shared-token or password-authenticated connections to self-declare elevated scopes without server-side binding. Attackers can exploit this logic flaw to present unauthorized scopes such as operator.admin and perform admin-only gateway operations.

Affected packages & fixed versions

Ecosystem	Package	Fixed in	Advisory
npm	openclaw	2026.3.12	GHSA-rqpp-rjj8-7wv8

Affected products (as reported)

Vendor	Product	Versions
OpenClaw	OpenClaw	0 – before 2026.3.12

Weakness: CWE-862 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

References

GitHub Security Advisory (GHSA-rqpp-rjj8-7wv8) vendor-advisory
https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-scope-elevation-in-websocket-shared-auth-connections third-party-advisory