Raw vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/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:XSummary
CVE-2026-28459 is a high-severity External Control of File Name or Path (CWE-73) vulnerability in Openclaw Openclaw. Its CVSS base score is 7.1 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Data from Local System (T1005); ranked at the 29th 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 SI-10 (Information Input Validation) and AC-3 (Access Enforcement) — 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-2026-28459 is a path traversal vulnerability (CWE-73) in OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.2.12, stemming from inadequate validation of the sessionFile path parameter. This flaw affects the gateway client component, which handles transcript data writes to the host filesystem. Without proper checks, the parameter allows paths outside the intended sessions directory, enabling unauthorized file operations.
Authenticated attackers with gateway client access (PR:L) can exploit this over the network (AV:N) with low complexity (AC:L) and no user interaction (UI:N). By supplying a malicious sessionFile path, they achieve arbitrary file writes, creating new files or repeatedly appending data. This leads to configuration file corruption (I:L) or denial of service through filesystem exhaustion (A:H), as indicated by the CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.1 (C:N/I:L/A:H/S:U).
Mitigation requires upgrading to OpenClaw 2026.2.12 or later, where the issue is addressed via commits such as 25950bcbb8ba4d8cde002557f6e27c219ae4deda and 4199f9889f0c307b77096a229b9e085b8d856c26. Additional details are available in the GitHub Security Advisory GHSA-64qx-vpxx-mvqf and VulnCheck advisory at https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-arbitrary-file-write-via-untrusted-sessionfile-path.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-9907
Vulnerability Data
OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.2.12 fail to validate the sessionFile path parameter, allowing authenticated gateway clients to write transcript data to arbitrary locations on the host filesystem. Attackers can supply a sessionFile path outside the sessions directory to create files…
more
and append data repeatedly, potentially causing configuration corruption or denial of service.
- 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
Input validation directly rejects or sanitizes untrusted path strings before they reach filesystem operations.
Enforces authorization checks on the actual resource accessed, blocking unauthorized files even when a malicious path is supplied.
Least-privilege limits the set of files or directories any subject can affect, shrinking the blast radius of a path-control flaw.
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.
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 can detect path-traversal issues but does not itself implement preventive controls.
Secure development lifecycle mandates input validation and path-handling controls that directly prevent external file/path manipulation.
Application security requirements explicitly call for controls against untrusted input influencing file operations.
Secure architecture principles discourage unsafe path construction but do not prescribe concrete file-name controls.
Secure coding standards require canonicalization, allow-listing, and bounds checks on file paths, directly eliminating CWE-73.
Information access restriction limits which files can be reached, indirectly reducing impact of path manipulation.