Openclaw cli: OpenClaw: Self-Whitelisting in appendLocalMediaParentRoots Allows Arbitrary File Read & Credential Exfiltration (CVE-2026-41366)

The OpenClaw CLI package (npm) has a vulnerability (CVE-2026-41366) in the appendLocalMediaParentRoots function within src/media/local-roots.ts. This function self-whitelists media parent directories, which can be exploited by a model to read arbitrary files on the host and exfiltrate credentials. However, exploitation requires that the configuration already allows tool filesystem root expansion, limiting the scope of impact. The vulnerability affects versions from 2026.1.29 up to but not including 2026.3.31. The issue was fixed in commit 1ca4261d7e055d0be141ed79ebb1365d0fbc7364 and patched in version 2026.3.31.

An attacker can leverage the self-whitelisting behavior in appendLocalMediaParentRoots to read arbitrary files on the host system and potentially exfiltrate credentials. The impact is limited to environments where the configuration permits tool filesystem root expansion, reducing the default critical severity to medium. There are no known exploits in the wild.

A patch is available and should be applied by upgrading OpenClaw CLI to version 2026.3.31 or later. This update removes the self-whitelisting behavior that enables arbitrary file read and credential exfiltration. No additional mitigation steps are indicated by the maintainer.