Openclaw cli: OpenClaw: Heartbeat owner downgrade missed local async exec completion events (CVE-2026-43578)
Description
A vulnerability in openclaw-cli versions 2026.3.31 up to but not including 2026.4.10 allows local async execution completion events to be missed by the heartbeat owner downgrade detection. This can result in a process continuing to run with higher privileges than intended after processing untrusted completion content. The issue is fixed in version 2026.4.10 and later.
CVSS v4.0
Affected software
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AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
The openclaw-cli package versions from 2026.3.31 up to but excluding 2026.4.10 have a flaw where the heartbeat owner downgrade mechanism misses local asynchronous execution completion events. This can cause a process to remain running in a more privileged context than intended after handling untrusted completion data. The fix, introduced in pull request #64376 and commit 19a2e9ddb5a8a494abcba812bb11f51075026a27, expands detection to cover local background exec formats and includes targeted tests. Users are advised to upgrade to version 2026.4.10 or newer, with 2026.4.14 including the fix.
Potential Impact
The vulnerability allows a local process to potentially continue running with elevated privileges after asynchronous execution completion events are missed by the heartbeat owner downgrade detection. This could lead to unintended privilege retention in the context of untrusted completion content, increasing the risk of privilege escalation locally.
Mitigation Recommendations
A patch is available and users should upgrade to openclaw-cli version 2026.4.10 or later. The latest npm release 2026.4.14 includes the fix. No additional mitigation steps are required beyond applying the official update.
Technical Details
- Gcve Source
- db.gcve.eu
- Osv Id
- BREW-openclaw-cli-CVE-2026-43578
- Osv Schema Version
- 1.7.3
- Ecosystems
- ["Homebrew"]
- Cvss Version
- 4.0
Threat ID: 6ac2459412601ec6a3165c95
Added to database: 10/04/2026, 12:24:52 UTC
Last enriched: 10/04/2026, 12:41:10 UTC
Last updated: 10/04/2026, 16:08:38 UTC
Views: 2
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