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VulnerabilityPublished Updated

CVE-2026-42438: OpenClaw · Sender policy bypass in host media attachment reads allows unauthorized local file disclosure

Affects openclawSource GCVE Database

0
Authoritative record:CVE-2026-42438· Medium 4.9

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 4.9 Medium : upgrade to 2026.4.10 when convenient.

Data as of 27 Oct 2026, 00:07 UTC

CVSS 4.0 base score
4.9Medium
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.
Patch
Available – fixed in 2026.4.10
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:H/SI:N/SA:N

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 5 May 2026

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponised: no evidence on record.

    No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB

  4. Exploited in the wild: no evidence on record.

    Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation

  5. Observed by OffSeq Mirage: no evidence on record.

    No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

What to do

Upgrade openclaw to 2026.4.10.

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
npmopenclawAffected
  • >=2026.4.9 <2026.4.10
Fixed in
  • 2026.4.10

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

Description

## Summary OpenClaw's outbound host-media attachment read helper could enable host-local file reads based on global or agent-level read access without also honoring sender and group-scoped tool policy. In channel deployments that used `toolsBySender` or group policy to deny `read` for less-trusted senders, a denied sender could still trigger host-media attachment loading and cause readable local files to be returned through the outbound media path. ## Affected Versions This issue is known to affect OpenClaw 2026.4.9. Earlier versions were not confirmed during triage, so the advisory range is intentionally scoped to `>= 2026.4.9 < 2026.4.10`. ## Impact Affected deployments are those that both allow host read or filesystem root expansion at the global/agent level and rely on sender or group-scoped policy to deny `read` for some channel participants. In that configuration, the intended sender/group authorization boundary could be bypassed for outbound media reads, potentially disclosing host-local files readable by the OpenClaw process. The issue does not require treating the model prompt as the security boundary. The vulnerable behavior was a concrete policy enforcement mismatch: sender/group policy denied `read`, while the host-media read helper could still be installed without that sender context. ## Resolution Fixed in OpenClaw 2026.4.10 by PR #64459, commit `c949af9fabf3873b5b7c484090cb5f5ab6049a98`. The fix threads sender, session, channel, and account context into outbound media access resolution and intersects host-media read capability creation with the existing group tool policy for `read`. When a concrete sender/group override denies `read`, OpenClaw no longer creates the host `readFile` media capability. Additional attachment canonicalization hardening shipped in 2026.4.14, but the authorization bypass described here was fixed in 2026.4.10. ## Credit Thanks to @Telecaster2147 for reporting this issue.

References

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