Openclaw cli: OpenClaw: Tlon settings empty-allowlist reconciliation bypassed intended revocation (CVE-2026-35649)

The openclaw CLI had a flaw in its Tlon settings reconciliation logic where explicit empty allowlists were incorrectly treated as if they were unset. This behavior could silently undo an intended deny-all revocation, effectively bypassing access restrictions. The vulnerability affects versions of openclaw prior to 2026.3.22. The issue was addressed in commit 3cbf932413e41d1836cb91aed1541a28a3122f93, which updated the code to respect explicit empty allowlists as authoritative deny-all configurations. Regression tests were added to ensure the fix's effectiveness.

The vulnerability could allow a bypass of intended deny-all revocation policies by treating explicit empty allowlists as unset, potentially permitting unauthorized access or actions that were meant to be denied. There is no indication of active exploitation in the wild. The impact is limited to the affected versions of the openclaw CLI prior to 2026.3.22.

Users should upgrade to openclaw CLI version 2026.3.22 or later, where the issue is fixed. The fix is officially released and present in versions 2026.3.22, 2026.3.23, and 2026.3.23-2. No additional mitigation steps are required beyond applying the update.