CVE-2026-25474
Published: 19 February 2026
Summary
CVE-2026-25474 is a high-severity Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity (CWE-345) vulnerability in Openclaw Openclaw. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked at the 9.1th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
This vulnerability is AI-related — categorised as Other AI Platforms.
Threat & Defense at a Glance
Threat & Defense Details
Likely Mitigating ControlsAI
Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.
Directly requires independent verification of matching output before adverse decisions, mitigating insufficient authenticity checks on data from external sources.
Use of approved PKI certificates provides verifiable data authenticity and origin for communications and artifacts.
Mandates provision of authenticity and integrity artifacts that enable verification of name/address resolution data.
Requires explicit verification of data authenticity from authoritative sources, preventing acceptance of unauthenticated resolution responses.
Control requires verification of data authenticity/integrity (e.g., checksums) after aggregation/packing, directly reducing exploitation of insufficient verification before transmission.
Time synchronization supports reliable freshness verification when checking data authenticity across systems or components.
Mandates verification of data authenticity for software, firmware, and information.
Provenance documentation and monitoring directly enables verification of authenticity for components and data throughout their history.
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Vulnerability in exposed Telegram webhook endpoint allows unauthenticated forged requests due to missing secret verification (CWE-345), directly enabling T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application to trigger bot actions.
NVD Description
OpenClaw is a personal AI assistant. In versions 2026.1.30 and below, if channels.telegram.webhookSecret is not set when in Telegram webhook mode, OpenClaw may accept webhook HTTP requests without verifying Telegram’s secret token header. In deployments where the webhook endpoint is…
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reachable by an attacker, this can allow forged Telegram updates (for example spoofing message.from.id). If an attacker can reach the webhook endpoint, they may be able to send forged updates that are processed as if they came from Telegram. Depending on enabled commands/tools and configuration, this could lead to unintended bot actions. Note: Telegram webhook mode is not enabled by default. It is enabled only when `channels.telegram.webhookUrl` is configured. This issue has been fixed in version 2026.2.1.
Deeper analysisAI
CVE-2026-25474 affects OpenClaw, a personal AI assistant, in versions 2026.1.30 and below. The vulnerability arises when the application is configured for Telegram webhook mode via the channels.telegram.webhookUrl setting but lacks a configured channels.telegram.webhookSecret. In such cases, OpenClaw accepts incoming webhook HTTP requests without verifying the Telegram secret token header, enabling improper authentication (CWE-345). This issue carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N), rated high due to its potential for integrity impacts.
An attacker with network access to the exposed webhook endpoint can exploit this by crafting and sending forged HTTP requests that mimic legitimate Telegram updates, such as spoofing the message.from.id field. No authentication or user interaction is required. Successful exploitation allows the forged updates to be processed as authentic, potentially triggering unintended bot actions depending on the OpenClaw configuration, enabled commands, and tools. Note that Telegram webhook mode is not enabled by default and requires explicit configuration.
Mitigation involves upgrading to OpenClaw version 2026.2.1, where the issue has been addressed, as detailed in the project's GitHub release notes and related commit history. Administrators should ensure channels.telegram.webhookSecret is properly set in webhook mode and restrict endpoint exposure where possible.
This vulnerability is relevant to AI assistant deployments with Telegram integrations, though no evidence of real-world exploitation is reported.
Details
- CWE(s)
Affected Products
AI Security AnalysisAI
- AI Category
- Other AI Platforms
- Risk Domain
- N/A
- OWASP Top 10 for LLMs 2025
- None mapped
- Classification Reason
- Matched keywords: ai