Summary
OpenClaw's owner-only gateway tool access checks were incomplete in specific authenticated DM flows
In authenticated non-owner DM sessions, a narrow tool-invocation path could reach broader-than-intended owner-only gateway actions.
Root Cause
- Some gateway call paths were still using broader default scopes instead of method-level least-privilege scopes.
- Owner-only enforcement depended on tool-name checks and was not consistently metadata-driven across all call paths.
Affected Packages / Versions
- Package:
openclaw(npm) - Affected:
<= 2026.2.17(latest published npm version as of February 19, 2026) - Patched:
2026.2.19
Fix Commit(s)
a40c10d3e24568b1e2947c104484be74bf66b8d22777d8ad91ef1e8a7c6f5b4b18f8507be7d029143d7ad1cfca4daaa84cd553e843e0e08fa6201349
OpenClaw thanks @Adam55A-code for reporting.
Impact
This requires an authenticated non-owner sender in a DM session and a specific tool invocation path. No unauthenticated access is involved, and this does not provide direct code execution by itself.
The application assigns, modifies, tracks, or checks privileges incorrectly, allowing a user to gain elevated access. Typical impact: privilege escalation beyond the intended level.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
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. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
Already deployed Kodem?
See it in your environmentNew to Kodem? Get a demo →Remediation advice
- Refactored gateway method scope mapping to a data-driven table and added guard tests to ensure all exposed core gateway methods stay classified.
- Centralized owner-only enforcement in tool policy wrappers and tool metadata.
- Marked owner-only tools explicitly (
cron,gateway,whatsapp_login) and removed duplicated per-tool owner checks. - Refactored gateway call path internals into smaller helpers while preserving behavior and coverage.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is GHSA-2HM8-RQRM-XFJQ? GHSA-2HM8-RQRM-XFJQ is a medium-severity improper privilege management vulnerability in openclaw (npm), affecting versions < 2026.2.19. It is fixed in 2026.2.19. The application assigns, modifies, tracks, or checks privileges incorrectly, allowing a user to gain elevated access.
- Which versions of openclaw are affected by GHSA-2HM8-RQRM-XFJQ? openclaw (npm) versions < 2026.2.19 is affected.
- Is there a fix for GHSA-2HM8-RQRM-XFJQ? Yes. GHSA-2HM8-RQRM-XFJQ is fixed in 2026.2.19. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is GHSA-2HM8-RQRM-XFJQ exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether GHSA-2HM8-RQRM-XFJQ 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
- What actually determines whether GHSA-2HM8-RQRM-XFJQ 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.
- How do I fix GHSA-2HM8-RQRM-XFJQ? Upgrade
openclawto 2026.2.19 or later.