Openclaw cli: OpenClaw has hook auth rate limiter bypass via IPv4-mapped IPv6 client key variants
Description
OpenClaw CLI has a vulnerability in its hook authentication rate limiter where IPv4 and IPv4-mapped IPv6 client addresses are treated as distinct, allowing attackers to bypass rate limits. This flaw enables an attacker to double the number of allowed failed authentication attempts within a 60-second window by splitting attempts across both address forms. The issue affects versions up to and including 2026.2.21-2 and is fixed in the planned release 2026.2.22.
CVSS v4.0
Affected software
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AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
The vulnerability in OpenClaw CLI's hook authentication rate limiter arises because failed attempts are keyed by the raw socket remoteAddress text without normalizing IPv4 and IPv4-mapped IPv6 addresses. As a result, the same client using IPv4 (e.g., 1.2.3.4) and its IPv4-mapped IPv6 counterpart (::ffff:1.2.3.4) are treated as separate clients, allowing separate rate-limit buckets. This effectively doubles the brute-force attempt budget from 20 to 40 attempts per 60 seconds. The affected components include src/gateway/server-http.ts and src/gateway/auth-rate-limit.ts. The vulnerability is patched in version 2026.2.22 by centralizing and reusing canonical client-IP normalization for auth rate-limiting.
Potential Impact
An attacker can bypass the intended authentication rate limiting by using IPv4 and IPv4-mapped IPv6 address variants, effectively doubling the number of failed authentication attempts allowed in a given time window. This increases the risk of successful brute-force attacks against hook authentication.
Mitigation Recommendations
A patch is available in the planned release 2026.2.22 that fixes the issue by normalizing client IP addresses before applying rate limiting. Users should upgrade to version 2026.2.22 once it is published to mitigate this vulnerability.
Technical Details
- Gcve Source
- db.gcve.eu
- Osv Id
- BREW-openclaw-cli-GHSA-5847-rm3g-23mw
- Osv Schema Version
- 1.7.3
- Ecosystems
- ["Homebrew"]
- Cvss Version
- 4.0
Threat ID: 6ac2458912601ec6a31640a7
Added to database: 10/04/2026, 12:24:41 UTC
Last enriched: 10/04/2026, 12:33:39 UTC
Last updated: 10/04/2026, 12:33:39 UTC
Views: 1
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