What is CVE-2026-22172?

CVE-2026-22172 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Openclaw, classified under Missing Authorization. CVSS score: 9.9/10. Published 2026-03-20.

How severe is CVE-2026-22172?

Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.9 out of 10.

Auth bypass in Openclaw

CVE-2026-22172

OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.3.12 contain an authorization bypass vulnerability in the WebSocket connect path that allows shared-token or password-authenticated connections to self-declare elevated scopes without server-side binding. Attackers can exploit this logic flaw to present unauthorized scopes such as operator.admin and perform admin-only gateway operations.

Vulnerability class: Broken Access Control

EPSS: 0.005 (40.3th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 9.9 (Critical). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H.

Affected products

Openclaw — versions 0, 2026.3.12

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-862 — Missing Authorization

References

disclosure@vulncheck.com (vendor-advisory, Vendor Advisory)
disclosure@vulncheck.com (Third Party Advisory, third-party-advisory)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-22172?: CVE-2026-22172 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Openclaw, classified under Missing Authorization. CVSS score: 9.9/10. Published 2026-03-20.
How severe is CVE-2026-22172?: Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.9 out of 10.