Resource exhaustion in Openclaw
CVE-2026-100542
OpenClaw (npm package 'openclaw') versions >= 2026.5.28 and < 2026.8.1 mishandle archive listings in the tar.bz2 skill installer: bounded command-output suffixes were treated as complete listings of the archive. A crafted .tar.bz2/.tbz2 skill archive can push prohibited entries out of both retained listings so that entry-count and size checks pass, and the archive is then extracted in full. If an operator approves installation of such a malicious or compromised skill archive, over-limit files or entry counts are persisted in the skill tools directory, consuming disk space or inodes. The issue bypasses OpenClaw's extraction budgets but does not by itself execute archive contents. Fixed in 2026.8.1.
Vulnerability class: DoS (Denial of Service)
Published · last modified .
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 3.1 (Low). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L.
EPSS exploit prediction
EPSS: 0.003 (17.5th percentile), scored .
Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 18th percentile — 17.5% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.
EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.003 · newest: 0.003 · change: 0.000
Affected products
Weakness classification (CWE)
References
- GitHub Security Advisory (GHSA-6xpv-wwr5-265h) (vendor-advisory)
- VulnCheck Advisory: OpenClaw before 2026.8.1 Extraction Limit Bypass via tar.bz2 (third-party-advisory)
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2026-100542?
- CVE-2026-100542 is a low-severity vulnerability in Openclaw, classified under Uncontrolled Resource Consumption. CVSS score: 3.1/10. Published 2026-09-26.
- How severe is CVE-2026-100542?
- Low severity. CVSS v3 base score is 3.1 out of 10.