Openclaw cli: OpenClaw: Agent gateway config mutations could change protected operator settings (CVE-2026-45001)
Description
OpenClaw CLI versions prior to 2026.4.20 contain a vulnerability where the agent gateway configuration mutation process could bypass protections on operator-trusted settings. This allows a model with access to the owner-only gateway tool to persist unauthorized changes to sensitive settings such as sandbox policy, plugin enablement, gateway authentication/TLS, hook routing, MCP server configuration, SSRF policy, and filesystem hardening. The vulnerability is a model-to-operator guard bypass and does not allow remote unauthenticated compromise. The issue is fixed in version 2026.4.20.
CVSS v4.0
Affected software
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AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
The OpenClaw CLI before version 2026.4.20 has a vulnerability (CVE-2026-45001) in the agent-facing gateway configuration mutation commands (`config.patch` and `config.apply`). These commands did not properly guard several operator-trusted settings, enabling a prompt-injected model with access to the owner-only gateway tool to persist unauthorized changes to critical configuration parameters. This is a privilege escalation via bypass of model-to-operator guards rather than a remote compromise. The fix introduced comprehensive blocking of model-driven mutations for the broader set of operator-trusted paths, including per-agent overrides and array-entry patching.
Potential Impact
An attacker controlling a model with access to the owner-only gateway tool could persist unauthorized changes to sensitive operator-trusted gateway settings. This could affect sandbox policies, plugin enablement, authentication and TLS settings, routing hooks, MCP server configuration, SSRF policies, and filesystem hardening. However, this vulnerability does not allow remote unauthenticated access or compromise of the gateway itself. The severity is assessed as medium.
Mitigation Recommendations
A patch is available and has been released in OpenClaw version 2026.4.20. Users should upgrade to this version or later to remediate the vulnerability. The fix blocks unauthorized model-driven mutations of operator-trusted gateway configuration settings. No additional mitigation steps are required beyond applying the official fix.
Technical Details
- Gcve Source
- db.gcve.eu
- Osv Id
- BREW-openclaw-cli-CVE-2026-45001
- Osv Schema Version
- 1.7.3
- Ecosystems
- ["Homebrew"]
- Cvss Version
- 4.0
Threat ID: 6ac2459012601ec6a31641e0
Added to database: 10/04/2026, 12:24:48 UTC
Last enriched: 10/04/2026, 12:38:48 UTC
Last updated: 10/04/2026, 16:08:38 UTC
Views: 2
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