Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-32007

Path Traversal in Openclaw ≤ 2026.2.23

Public PoCPath Traversal
Published
19 March 2026
Modified
24 March 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v4 7.6
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/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:X
EPSS Score 0.0036 29th percentile
Risk Priority 30 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2026-32007 is a high-severity Path Traversal (CWE-22) vulnerability in Openclaw Openclaw. Its CVSS base score is 7.6 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); 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 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-2026-32007, published on 2026-03-19, is a path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22) in the experimental apply_patch tool of OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.2.23. The flaw stems from inconsistent enforcement of workspace-only checks on mounted paths, enabling attackers with sandbox access to modify files outside the designated workspace directory.

Exploitation requires network access (AV:N), low privileges such as sandbox access (PR:L), and high attack complexity (AC:H), with no user interaction needed (UI:N) and unchanged scope (S:U). Successful attacks allow modification of arbitrary files on the system via apply_patch operations on writable mounts outside the workspace root, resulting in high confidentiality and integrity impacts but no availability disruption (CVSS 6.8, CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N).

Mitigation details are provided in the OpenClaw GitHub security advisory (GHSA-h9xm-j4qg-fvpg) and a fixing commit (6634030be31e1a1842967df046c2f2e47490e6bf), along with analysis in the Vulncheck advisory on the sandbox bypass in the apply_patch tool. Affected users should upgrade to OpenClaw 2026.2.23 or later.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.2.23 contain a path traversal vulnerability in the experimental apply_patch tool that allows attackers with sandbox access to modify files outside the workspace directory by exploiting inconsistent enforcement of workspace-only checks on mounted paths. Attackers can…

more

use apply_patch operations on writable mounts outside the workspace root to access and modify arbitrary files on the system.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

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.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

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CVE-2026-28482Same product: Openclaw Openclaw
CVE-2026-32061Same product: Openclaw Openclaw
CVE-2026-41363Same product: Openclaw Openclaw
CVE-2026-41911Same product: Openclaw Openclaw
CVE-2026-44996Same product: Openclaw Openclaw
CVE-2026-27523Same product: Openclaw Openclaw
CVE-2026-28462Same product: Openclaw Openclaw

Affected Assets

openclaw
openclaw
≤ 2026.2.23

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • 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.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

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 none match
prevents

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.

finds

Security testing in development catches path traversal via static/dynamic analysis.

prevents

Secure SDLC mandates input validation and path sanitization that directly prevent path traversal.

prevents

Application security requirements include rules for safe file handling and canonicalization.

prevents

Secure architecture principles require least-privilege file access and directory isolation.

prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe path construction and mandate safe APIs.

mitigates

Information access restriction limits which files an application may read or write.

References