Raw vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/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:XSummary
CVE-2026-28463 is a high-severity OS Command Injection (CWE-78) vulnerability in Openclaw Openclaw. Its CVSS base score is 8.6 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Command and Scripting Interpreter (T1059); ranked at the 6th 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 SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) 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-2026-28463, published on 2026-03-05, is an arbitrary file read vulnerability (CWE-78) affecting OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.2.14. The flaw exists in the exec-approvals allowlist validation mechanism, which inspects pre-expansion argv tokens but executes commands using actual shell expansion, enabling unintended file access.
Attackers with authorization to execute commands or those capable of prompt-injection attacks can exploit the vulnerability by targeting allowlisted safe binaries such as head, tail, or grep. By incorporating glob patterns or environment variables, they can disclose arbitrary files readable by the gateway or node process when host execution is enabled in allowlist mode. The issue carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.4 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H), indicating high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability from a local, unprivileged context with low complexity and no user interaction required.
Mitigation is provided in OpenClaw version 2026.2.14 and later, addressed via a fix in GitHub commit 77b89719d5b7e271f48b6f49e334a8b991468c3b. Further details on the vulnerability and remediation are available in the GitHub security advisory at GHSA-xvhf-x56f-2hpp and the Vulncheck advisory at https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-arbitrary-file-read-via-shell-expansion-in-safe-bins-allowlist.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-9909
Vulnerability Data
OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.2.14 contain an arbitrary file read vulnerability in the exec-approvals allowlist validation that checks pre-expansion argv tokens but executes using real shell expansion. Attackers with authorization or through prompt-injection attacks can exploit safe binaries like head,…
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tail, or grep with glob patterns or environment variables to disclose files readable by the gateway or node process when host execution is enabled in allowlist mode.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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V1.2.5V1.2.8V15.2.5
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Developer testing and evaluation can discover missing or incorrect command sanitization during development.
Input validation directly neutralizes or rejects special characters that would otherwise alter OS command structure.
Least privilege reduces the permissions available to any process that could be subverted by injected commands.
Least functionality restricts available OS commands and interpreters, limiting the blast radius of injection.
Secure engineering principles require proper neutralization of untrusted input before command construction.
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.
PR.PS-06's SDLC practices directly require secure coding and input handling that blocks command-injection defects, yet the single broad outcome leaves many specific neutralization vectors and verification gaps unaddressed.
Routine patching/maintenance can remediate known command-injection CVEs in dependencies (partial forward) but does nothing to stop developers from introducing improper neutralization in custom code (none reverse).
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 and code review target insecure use of operating-system command interfaces, catching command-injection flaws introduced during development.