Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-32001

Access Control in Openclaw ≤ 2026.2.22

Public PoCAccess Control
Published
19 March 2026
Modified
23 March 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v4 5.3
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/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:X
EPSS Score 0.0027 19th percentile
Risk Priority 35 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-32001 is a medium-severity Incorrect Authorization (CWE-863) vulnerability in Openclaw Openclaw. Its CVSS base score is 5.3 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Valid Accounts (T1078); ranked at the 19th 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 IA-3 (Device Identification and Authentication) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.2.22 contain an authentication bypass vulnerability that allows clients authenticated with a shared gateway token to connect as role=node without device identity verification. Attackers can exploit this by claiming the node role during WebSocket handshake to…

more

inject unauthorized node.event calls, triggering agent.request and voice.transcript flows without proper device pairing.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI

T1078 Valid Accounts Stealth
Adversaries may obtain and abuse credentials of existing accounts as a means of gaining Initial Access, Persistence, Privilege Escalation, or Defense Evasion.
T1133 External Remote Services Persistence
Adversaries may leverage external-facing remote services to initially access and/or persist within a network.
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
Why these techniques?

Auth bypass via shared token enables unauthorized role assumption and remote service access without device verification, directly facilitating initial access via valid accounts or external services.

Confidence: MEDIUM · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v19.0

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-34506Same product: Openclaw Openclaw
CVE-2026-32924Same product: Openclaw Openclaw
CVE-2026-32028Same product: Openclaw Openclaw
CVE-2026-32006Same product: Openclaw Openclaw
CVE-2026-31998Same product: Openclaw Openclaw
CVE-2026-32899Same product: Openclaw Openclaw
CVE-2026-32021Same product: Openclaw Openclaw
CVE-2026-35657Same product: Openclaw Openclaw
CVE-2026-32027Same product: Openclaw Openclaw
CVE-2026-35673Same product: Openclaw Openclaw

Affected Assets

openclaw
openclaw
≤ 2026.2.22

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)
  • AC-3 Access Enforcement
  • IA-3 Device Identification and Authentication
  • AC-6 Least Privilege
Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 5 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

prevent

Directly enforces authorization decisions so a client presenting only a shared gateway token cannot assume the node role or invoke node.event without verified device identity.

prevent

Requires cryptographic or mutual authentication of devices before allowing them to present as role=node during the WebSocket handshake.

prevent

Restricts the privileges granted to any node-role session so that even a bypassed authentication token cannot trigger agent.request or voice.transcript flows.

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.AA-05 mostly match
prevents

Defining, enforcing, and reviewing access authorizations and least privilege directly prevents incorrect authorization checks.

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.

prevents

Requiring consistency between access rights and classification plus formal approval steps ensures that the authorization logic correctly distinguishes between entities that should and should not be granted access.

prevents

Enforcing policy-driven approval and role-change reviews stops incorrect or stale authorization decisions from remaining in effect after job changes or terminations.

prevents

By tying access rights to identity, device, location and classification, the control reduces the likelihood that an authorization decision will be based on an incorrect or bypassed policy.

References