CVE-2026-28459

In OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.2.12, the gateway accepted an untrusted sessionFile path when resolving the session transcript file. This could allow an authenticated gateway client to create and append OpenClaw session transcript records at an arbitrary path on the gateway host.

Affected Versions

• Affected: openclaw < 2026.2.12
• Patched: openclaw >= 2026.2.12 (recommended: >= 2026.2.13)

Credits

Thanks to @tubadeligoz for the report.

An authenticated gateway client could influence where the gateway writes transcript data by supplying sessionFile outside of the sessions directory. Depending on deployment and filesystem permissions, this may enable arbitrary file creation and repeated appends, leading to configuration corruption and/or denial of service.

This issue does not, by itself, provide a proven remote code execution path.

Untrusted input reaches a shell command, allowing arbitrary commands to run on the host. Typical impact: code execution in the application's environment.

CVE-2026-28459 has a CVSS score of 7.1 (High). The vector is network-reachable, low privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (2026.2.12); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

The transcript path is now constrained to the sessions directory via resolveSessionFilePath(...) containment checks.

Fix commits:

• 4199f9889f0c307b77096a229b9e085b8d856c26
• (compat) 25950bcbb8ba4d8cde002557f6e27c219ae4deda

1. What is CVE-2026-28459? CVE-2026-28459 is a high-severity OS command injection vulnerability in openclaw (npm), affecting versions < 2026.2.12. It is fixed in 2026.2.12. Untrusted input reaches a shell command, allowing arbitrary commands to run on the host.
2. How severe is CVE-2026-28459? CVE-2026-28459 has a CVSS score of 7.1 (High). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
3. Which versions of openclaw are affected by CVE-2026-28459? openclaw (npm) versions < 2026.2.12 is affected.
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2026-28459? Yes. CVE-2026-28459 is fixed in 2026.2.12. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2026-28459 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-28459 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
6. What actually determines whether CVE-2026-28459 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
7. How do I fix CVE-2026-28459? Upgrade openclaw to 2026.2.12 or later.