VulnerabilityPublished 12 Mar 2026

CVE-2026-4040: OpenClaw · Information Exposure Through Discrepancy

Affects OpenClawSource CVE Database V5

Compare

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 4.8 Medium.

Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 11:52 UTC

CVSS 4.0 base score

4.8Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 3% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X

Attack Vector: Local
Attack Complexity: Low
Attack Requirements: None
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Vulnerable system confidentiality: Low
Vulnerable system integrity: None
Vulnerable system availability: None
Subsequent system confidentiality: None
Subsequent system integrity: None
Subsequent system availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Local: The vulnerable system is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or through terminal emulation (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., using social engineering techniques to trick a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
Attack Complexity: Low: The attacker must take no measurable action to exploit the vulnerability. The attack requires no target-specific circumvention to exploit the vulnerability. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable system.
Attack Requirements: None: The successful attack does not depend on the deployment and execution conditions of the vulnerable system. The attacker can expect to be able to reach the vulnerability and execute the exploit under all or most instances of the vulnerability.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker requires privileges that provide basic capabilities that are typically limited to settings and resources owned by a single low-privileged user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges has the ability to access only non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without interaction from any human user, other than the attacker.
Vulnerable system confidentiality: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the Vulnerable System.
Vulnerable system integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the Vulnerable System.
Vulnerable system availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the Subsequent System or all confidentiality impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the Subsequent System or all integrity impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the Subsequent System or all availability impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v4.0 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 12 Mar 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: evidence found.
Public exploit code: GitHub proofs of concept
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), GitHub proofs of concept, the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 30 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
OpenClaw	Affected 2026.2.0 – 2026.2.17 18 affected builds	Fixed in–
GitHubopenclaw/openclaw`pkg:github/openclaw/openclaw`Other threats	Affected 2026.2.0 – 2026.2.17 18 affected builds	Fixed in–

CPE configurations (1)

cpe:2.3:a:openclaw:openclaw:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2026-4040, organizations should upgrade OpenClaw to version 2026.2.19-beta.1 or later, which contains the official patch. In addition to upgrading, organizations should implement strict access controls to limit local user permissions and restrict access to systems running vulnerable OpenClaw versions. Employing application whitelisting and monitoring for unusual local activity can help detect exploitation attempts. Regularly auditing local user accounts and removing unnecessary accounts reduces the attack surface. For environments where immediate upgrade is not feasible, consider isolating vulnerable systems or using containerization to limit local access impact. Finally, maintain up-to-date system and application logs to facilitate detection and forensic analysis if exploitation is suspected.

Description

A vulnerability was identified in OpenClaw up to 2026.2.17. This issue affects the function tools.exec.safeBins of the component File Existence Handler. The manipulation leads to information exposure through discrepancy. The attack needs to be performed locally. Upgrading to version 2026.2.19-beta.1 is capable of addressing this issue. The identifier of the patch is bafdbb6f112409a65decd3d4e7350fbd637c7754. Upgrading the affected component is advised.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2026-4040 is unauthorized information disclosure, which can aid attackers in reconnaissance and planning further attacks. While the vulnerability does not directly compromise system integrity or availability, the leaked information could reveal sensitive details about file existence or system configuration that might be leveraged for privilege escalation or targeted attacks. Organizations with multi-user systems, shared environments, or those that allow untrusted local users are at higher risk. The limited attack vector (local access only) reduces the likelihood of remote exploitation but does not eliminate risk in environments such as shared hosting, development machines, or internal networks where local access is possible. The absence of known exploits reduces immediate threat but does not preclude future exploitation. Overall, the impact is moderate but should not be ignored in security-sensitive deployments.

References

Community reviews

Loading reviews…

Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

CPE configurations (1)

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 12 Mar 2026, 12:29 UTC

Public exploits and detectionGitHub proofs of concept

Technical details

References

Community reviews

Related threats