Raw vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/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:XSummary
CVE-2026-32033 is a medium-severity Path Traversal (CWE-22) vulnerability in Openclaw Openclaw. Its CVSS base score is 6.0 (Medium).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked at the 26th 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-2026-32033, published on 2026-03-19, is a path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22) in OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.2.24. It affects the workspace-only file-system boundary validation enabled by the tools.fs.workspaceOnly setting. Due to a canonicalization mismatch, attackers can bypass restrictions using @-prefixed absolute paths, such as @/etc/passwd, to access files outside the intended workspace.
The vulnerability carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.5 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N). Low-privileged remote users (PR:L) can exploit it over the network with low attack complexity and no user interaction. Exploitation allows arbitrary file reads beyond the workspace boundary, compromising high confidentiality without impacting integrity or availability.
Mitigation requires upgrading to OpenClaw version 2026.2.24 or later, as implemented in the patch commit at https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/9ef0fc2ff8fa7b145d1e746d6eb030b1bf692260. Further details are provided in the GitHub security advisory at https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-27cr-4p5m-74rj and the VulnCheck advisory at https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-path-traversal-via-prefixed-absolute-paths-in-workspace-boundary-validation.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-13314
Vulnerability Data
OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.2.24 contain a path traversal vulnerability where @-prefixed absolute paths bypass workspace-only file-system boundary validation due to canonicalization mismatch. Attackers can exploit this by crafting @-prefixed paths like @/etc/passwd to read files outside the intended workspace…
more
boundary when tools.fs.workspaceOnly is enabled.
- 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
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.
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 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.
Security testing in development catches path traversal via static/dynamic analysis.
Secure SDLC mandates input validation and path sanitization that directly prevent path traversal.
Application security requirements include rules for safe file handling and canonicalization.
Secure architecture principles require least-privilege file access and directory isolation.
Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe path construction and mandate safe APIs.
Information access restriction limits which files an application may read or write.