Openclaw cli: OpenClaw Gateway: RCE and Privilege Escalation from operator.pairing to operator.admin via device.pair.approve (CVE-2026-35639)
Description
The OpenClaw CLI vulnerability CVE-2026-35639 involves the device.pair.approve function allowing an operator with pairing approval privileges to approve device requests for broader operator scopes than authorized. This leads to privilege escalation from operator.pairing to operator.admin. The issue affects openclaw versions prior to 2026.3.22 and was fixed in version 2026.3.22. The fix ensures that requested operator scopes do not exceed those held by the approver.
CVSS v4.0
Affected software
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AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
CVE-2026-35639 is a privilege escalation vulnerability in the openclaw npm package's device.pair.approve method. An operator with pairing approval rights could approve device pairing requests that grant broader operator scopes than they themselves possess, effectively escalating privileges from operator.pairing to operator.admin. The vulnerability affects versions before 2026.3.22 and was addressed by threading caller scopes into device.pair.approve and rejecting requests exceeding the approver's scope. The fix was shipped in version 2026.3.22 and remains in subsequent releases.
Potential Impact
An attacker with operator.pairing approval privileges could escalate their privileges to operator.admin by approving device pairing requests with broader scopes than authorized. This could lead to unauthorized administrative access within the OpenClaw system. There are no known exploits in the wild at this time.
Mitigation Recommendations
A patch is available and should be applied by upgrading openclaw to version 2026.3.22 or later. The fix ensures that device pairing approvals cannot grant operator scopes beyond those held by the approver, preventing privilege escalation.
Technical Details
- Gcve Source
- db.gcve.eu
- Osv Id
- BREW-openclaw-cli-CVE-2026-35639
- Osv Schema Version
- 1.7.3
- Ecosystems
- ["Homebrew"]
- Cvss Version
- 4.0
Threat ID: 6ac245ae12601ec6a3166b07
Added to database: 10/04/2026, 12:25:18 UTC
Last enriched: 10/04/2026, 12:55:23 UTC
Last updated: 10/04/2026, 16:08:37 UTC
Views: 1
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