Summary
OpenClaw's macOS Dashboard flow exposed Gateway authentication material to browser-controlled surfaces.
Before the fix, the macOS app appended the shared Gateway token and password to the Dashboard URL query string when opening the Control UI in the browser. The Control UI then imported the token and persisted it into browser localStorage under openclaw.control.settings.v1.
This expanded exposure of reusable Gateway admin credentials into browser address-bar/query surfaces and persistent script-readable storage.
Affected Packages / Versions
- Package:
openclaw(npm) - Latest published version verified vulnerable:
2026.3.2 - Affected range:
<= 2026.3.2 - Patched version:
>= 2026.3.7
Fix Commit(s)
10d0e3f3ca92326df0ca071fabffe463742f263c(March 7, 2026)
Release Process Note
npm 2026.3.7 was published on March 8, 2026. This advisory is fixed in the released package.
Thanks @whiter6666 for reporting.
Impact
An attacker with access to browser-controlled surfaces or persistent browser storage could recover a valid Gateway admin token and reuse it against the OpenClaw management interface.
The exposure chain was:
- macOS
Open Dashboardconstructed a URL with auth material. - The browser received that credential-bearing URL.
- The Control UI imported the token from the URL.
- The Control UI persisted the token in
localStorage.
GHSA-RCHV-X836-W7XP has a CVSS score of 7.1 (High). The vector is requires local access, no privileges required, and user interaction required. 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 (2026.3.7); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
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.
Remediation advice
The fix aligns the macOS Dashboard flow with the safer existing CLI/bootstrap pattern and removes persistent browser token storage:
- macOS Dashboard now passes the Gateway token via URL fragment instead of query parameters.
- macOS Dashboard no longer propagates the shared Gateway password into browser URLs.
- Control UI keeps Gateway tokens in memory only for the current tab.
- Control UI scrubs legacy persisted tokens from
openclaw.control.settings.v1on load. - Regression tests cover fragment transport, password omission, and token-scrubbing behavior.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is GHSA-RCHV-X836-W7XP? GHSA-RCHV-X836-W7XP is a high-severity security vulnerability in openclaw (npm), affecting versions <= 2026.3.2. It is fixed in 2026.3.7.
- How severe is GHSA-RCHV-X836-W7XP? GHSA-RCHV-X836-W7XP 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.
- Which versions of openclaw are affected by GHSA-RCHV-X836-W7XP? openclaw (npm) versions <= 2026.3.2 is affected.
- Is there a fix for GHSA-RCHV-X836-W7XP? Yes. GHSA-RCHV-X836-W7XP is fixed in 2026.3.7. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is GHSA-RCHV-X836-W7XP exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether GHSA-RCHV-X836-W7XP 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-RCHV-X836-W7XP 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-RCHV-X836-W7XP? Upgrade
openclawto 2026.3.7 or later.