OpenClaw < 2026.2.21 - Environment Variable Injection via Config env.vars
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-22177 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | VulnCheck |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-03-18 02:16:21 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-04-08 17:21:14 UTC |
| Description | OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.2.21 fail to filter dangerous process-control environment variables from config env.vars, allowing startup-time code execution. Attackers can inject variables like NODE_OPTIONS or LD_* through configuration to execute arbitrary code in the OpenClaw gateway service runtime context. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v4.0 6.9 MEDIUM from [email protected]
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
Problem Types: CWE-15 | CWE-15 CWE-15: External Control of System or Configuration Setting
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.0 | [email protected] | Secondary | 6.9 | MEDIUM | CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/C... |
| 4.0 | CNA | CVSS | 6.9 | MEDIUM | CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N |
| 3.1 | [email protected] | Primary | 8.8 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| 3.1 | [email protected] | Secondary | 6.1 | MEDIUM | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:L |
| 3.1 | CNA | CVSS | 6.1 | MEDIUM | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:L |
CVSS v4.0 Breakdown
Attack Vector
LocalAttack Complexity
LowAttack Requirements
NonePrivileges Required
LowUser Interaction
NoneConfidentiality
NoneIntegrity
HighAvailability
LowSub Conf.
NoneSub Integrity
NoneSub Availability
NoneCVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
CVSS v3.1 Breakdown
Attack Vector
NetworkAttack Complexity
LowPrivileges Required
LowUser Interaction
NoneScope
UnchangedConfidentiality
HighIntegrity
HighAvailability
HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD Known Affected Configurations (CPE 2.3)
Vendor Declared Affected Products
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-8fmp-37rc-p5g7 | [email protected] | github.com | Vendor Advisory |
| github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/2cdbadee1f8fcaa93302d7debbfc529e1986... | [email protected] | github.com | Patch |
| www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-environment-variable-injection-via-config... | [email protected] | www.vulncheck.com | Third Party Advisory |
| github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-w9j9-w4cp-6wgr | [email protected] | github.com | |
| CVE Program record | CVE.ORG | www.cve.org | canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail | NVD | nvd.nist.gov | canonical, analysis |
Vendor Comments And Credit
Discovery Credit
CNA: tdjackey (en)
CNA: Zhijie Zhang (en)
There are currently no legacy QID mappings associated with this CVE.