Vulnerability in Openclaw
CVE-2026-22217
OpenClaw version 2026.2.22 prior to 2026.2.23 contains an arbitrary code execution vulnerability in shell-env that allows attackers to execute attacker-controlled binaries by exploiting trusted-prefix fallback logic for the $SHELL variable. An attacker can influence the $SHELL environment variable on systems with writable trusted-prefix directories such as /opt/homebrew/bin to execute arbitrary binaries in the OpenClaw process context.
Published · last modified .
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 6.1 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:L.
EPSS exploit prediction
EPSS: 0.001 (1.9th percentile), scored .
Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 2nd percentile — 1.9% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.
EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.001 · newest: 0.001 · change: 0.000
Affected products
- Openclaw — versions 2026.2.22
Weakness classification (CWE)
References
- github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-p4wh-cr8m-gm6c (vendor-advisory, Vendor Advisory, third-party-advisory)
- github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/ff10fe8b91670044a6bb0cd85deb736a0ec8fb55 (Patch, patch)
- www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-arbitrary-binary-execution-via-shell-envi… (Third Party Advisory, third-party-advisory)
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2026-22217?
- CVE-2026-22217 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Openclaw, classified under Inclusion of Functionality from Untrusted Control Sphere. CVSS score: 6.1/10. Published 2026-03-18.
- How severe is CVE-2026-22217?
- Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 6.1 out of 10.