CVE-2026-31990
Openclaw ≤ 2026.3.2
Raw vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:L/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-2026-31990 is a medium-severity Link Following (CWE-59) vulnerability in Openclaw Openclaw. Its CVSS base score is 6.9 (Medium).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Path Interception (T1034); ranked at the 3th 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 AC-6 (Least Privilege) — 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-2026-31990 is a symlink traversal vulnerability (CWE-59: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access) affecting OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.3.2. The issue lies in the stageSandboxMedia function, which fails to validate destination symlinks during media staging. This flaw allows writes to follow symlinks outside the intended sandbox workspace, potentially enabling unauthorized file modifications on the host system. The vulnerability carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.1 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:L), indicating medium severity with high integrity impact.
A local attacker with low privileges can exploit this vulnerability by placing symbolic links in the media/inbound directory. Successful exploitation allows the attacker to overwrite arbitrary files on the host system beyond sandbox boundaries during media staging operations, compromising file integrity without requiring user interaction or elevated privileges.
Mitigation is available via the patch in OpenClaw commit 17ede52a4be3034f6ec4b883ac6b81ad0101558a (https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/17ede52a4be3034f6ec4b883ac6b81ad0101558a), which addresses versions prior to 2026.3.2. Additional guidance appears in the GitHub security advisory GHSA-cfvj-7rx7-fc7c (https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-cfvj-7rx7-fc7c) and the Vulncheck advisory (https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-symlink-traversal-in-stagesandboxmedia-destination). Practitioners should update to OpenClaw 2026.3.2 or later and review inbound media directories for symlinks.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-13019
Vulnerability Data
OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.3.2 contain a vulnerability in the stageSandboxMedia function in which it fails to validate destination symlinks during media staging, allowing writes to follow symlinks outside the sandbox workspace. Attackers can exploit this by placing symlinks in…
more
the media/inbound directory to overwrite arbitrary files on the host system outside sandbox boundaries.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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V15.4.2
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Proper enforcement of access authorizations on the resolved target resource stops a link from reaching an unintended object.
Least-privilege limits the damage an attacker can cause after following an unintended link.
Validating file-name inputs can reject or canonicalize names that resolve to links before access occurs.
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.
Secure SDLC practices directly require code to validate paths and avoid unsafe link following.
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 link-following flaws before release.
Secure SDLC practices can mandate link-resolution checks and canonicalization before file access.
Application security requirements can explicitly require safe handling of symbolic links and path traversal.
Secure architecture principles include input validation and safe file-access design patterns.
Secure coding standards directly address canonicalization and symlink attacks during implementation.
Access-control rules can limit which files are reachable, reducing exposure to malicious links.