Raw vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:H/VA:H/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:XCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2026-28447 is a high-severity Path Traversal (CWE-22) vulnerability in Openclaw Openclaw. Its CVSS base score is 7.0 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked at the 28th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-3 (Access Enforcement) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2026-28447 is a path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22) in the plugin installation feature of OpenClaw versions 2026.1.29-beta.1 prior to 2026.2.1. The flaw allows malicious plugin package names, particularly scoped names containing path traversal sequences like "..", to escape the intended extensions directory and write files to arbitrary locations outside the installation path when victims execute the "plugins install" command.
The vulnerability can be exploited by remote attackers requiring no privileges (PR:N) over the network (AV:N) with low attack complexity (AC:L), though it demands user interaction (UI:R) such as installing a crafted plugin package. Successful exploitation enables high-impact integrity (I:H) and availability (A:H) compromises with no confidentiality impact (C:N) and unchanged scope (S:U), earning a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.1. Attackers can achieve arbitrary file writes beyond the extensions directory, potentially leading to system compromise depending on the targeted paths and permissions.
Advisories recommend upgrading to OpenClaw version 2026.2.1 or later to mitigate the issue. Detailed guidance is available in the GitHub security advisory (GHSA-qrq5-wjgg-rvqw) at https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-qrq5-wjgg-rvqw, the patching commit at https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/d03eca8450dc493b198a88b105fd180895238e57, and the VulnCheck advisory at https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-beta-path-traversal-in-plugin-installation-via-package-name.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-9897
Vulnerability Data
OpenClaw versions 2026.1.29-beta.1 prior to 2026.2.1 contain a path traversal vulnerability in plugin installation that allows malicious plugin package names to escape the extensions directory. Attackers can craft scoped package names containing path traversal sequences like .. to write files…
more
outside the intended installation directory when victims run the plugins install command.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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V5.3.2
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Enforces the intended directory access authorizations that path traversal would otherwise bypass.
Input validation directly neutralizes special path elements before pathname construction occurs.
Least privilege reduces the impact of any unauthorized file access obtained via traversal.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Patching/maintenance can remediate known path-traversal flaws in deployed software (partial prevention of exploitability) but does nothing to stop the coding defect from being introduced in the first place.
PR.AA-05 defines and reviews access policies but does not address code-level pathname neutralization, so neither direction prevents CWE-22.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Security testing in development catches path traversal via static/dynamic analysis.
Secure SDLC mandates input validation and path sanitization that directly prevent path traversal.
Application security requirements include rules for safe file handling and canonicalization.
Secure architecture principles require least-privilege file access and directory isolation.
Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe path construction and mandate safe APIs.
Information access restriction limits which files an application may read or write.