Raw vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/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:XSummary
CVE-2026-28453 is a high-severity Path Traversal (CWE-22) vulnerability in Openclaw Openclaw. Its CVSS base score is 8.3 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked at the 34th 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-2026-28453 is a path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22) in OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.2.14, stemming from inadequate validation of TAR archive entry paths during extraction. This flaw allows traversal sequences, such as ../../, to direct file writes outside the intended extraction directory. The vulnerability carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N) and was published on 2026-03-05.
Attackers can exploit this issue by crafting malicious TAR archives containing traversal sequences and tricking victims into extracting them. Given the CVSS vector, exploitation is feasible remotely by unauthenticated attackers with low complexity and no user interaction required. Successful attacks enable writing arbitrary files outside extraction boundaries, potentially leading to configuration tampering or code execution depending on write locations and privileges.
Advisories and the associated patch reference recommend upgrading to OpenClaw version 2026.2.14 or later, where a fix was implemented via commit 3aa94afcfd12104c683c9cad81faf434d0dadf87. Additional details are available in the GitHub security advisory (GHSA-p25h-9q54-ffvw) and VulnCheck advisory on the ZIP slip-style path traversal in TAR extraction.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-9902
Vulnerability Data
OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.2.14 fail to validate TAR archive entry paths during extraction, allowing path traversal sequences to write files outside the intended directory. Attackers can craft malicious archives with traversal sequences like ../../ to write files outside extraction…
more
boundaries, potentially enabling configuration tampering and code execution.
- 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.