Summary
OpenClaw inter-session prompts could be treated as direct user instructions
Inter-session messages sent via sessions_send could be interpreted as direct end-user instructions because they were persisted as role: "user" without provenance metadata.
Affected Packages / Versions
- Package:
openclaw(npm) - Affected versions:
<= 2026.2.12(i.e.< 2026.2.13) - Fixed in:
2026.2.13(patched versions>= 2026.2.13)
Technical details
Before the fix, routed inter-session prompts were stored as regular user turns without a verifiable source marker.
As a result, downstream workers and transcript readers could not distinguish:
- External user input
- Internal inter-session routed input
Fix Commit(s)
85409e401b6586f83954cb53552395d7aab04797
Workarounds
If immediate upgrade is not possible:
- Disable or restrict
sessions_sendin affected environments. - Do not use role alone as an authority boundary; require provenance-aware checks in orchestration logic.
Credit
Reported by @anbecker.
Thanks @anbecker for reporting.
Impact
A delegated or internal session could inject instructions into another session that appeared equivalent to externally-originated user input.
This is an instruction-provenance confusion issue (confused-deputy style), which can lead to unintended privileged behavior in workflows that trust role: "user" as a sole authority signal.
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.
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OpenClaw now carries explicit input provenance end-to-end for routed prompts.
Key changes:
- Added structured provenance model (
inputProvenance) withkindvalues includinginter_session. sessions_sendand agent-to-agent steps now set inter-session provenance when invoking target runs.- Provenance is persisted on user messages as
message.provenance.kind = "inter_session"(role remainsuserfor provider compatibility). - Transcript readers and memory helpers were updated to respect provenance and avoid treating inter-session prompts as external user-originated input.
- Runtime context rebuilding now annotates inter-session turns with an explicit in-memory marker (
[Inter-session message]) for clearer model-side disambiguation. - Regression tests were added for transcript parsing, session tools flow, runner sanitization, and memory hook behavior.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is GHSA-W5C7-9QQW-6645? GHSA-W5C7-9QQW-6645 is a high-severity security vulnerability in openclaw (npm), affecting versions < 2026.2.13. It is fixed in 2026.2.13.
- Which versions of openclaw are affected by GHSA-W5C7-9QQW-6645? openclaw (npm) versions < 2026.2.13 is affected.
- Is there a fix for GHSA-W5C7-9QQW-6645? Yes. GHSA-W5C7-9QQW-6645 is fixed in 2026.2.13. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is GHSA-W5C7-9QQW-6645 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether GHSA-W5C7-9QQW-6645 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-W5C7-9QQW-6645 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-W5C7-9QQW-6645? Upgrade
openclawto 2026.2.13 or later.