Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-32061

Path Traversal in Openclaw ≤ 2026.2.17

Public PoCPath Traversal
Published
11 March 2026
Modified
16 March 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v4 6.7
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/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:X
EPSS Score 0.0015 4th percentile
Risk Priority 35 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-32061 is a medium-severity Path Traversal (CWE-22) vulnerability in Openclaw Openclaw. Its CVSS base score is 6.7 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Data from Local System (T1005); ranked at the 4th 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-6 (Least Privilege) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — 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 2026.2.17 contain a path traversal vulnerability in the $include directive resolution that allows reading arbitrary local files outside the config directory boundary. Attackers with config modification capabilities can exploit this by specifying absolute paths, traversal sequences,…

more

or symlinks to access sensitive files readable by the OpenClaw process user, including API keys and credentials.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI

T1005 Data from Local System Collection
Adversaries may search local system sources, such as file systems, configuration files, local databases, virtual machine files, or process memory, to find files of interest and sensitive data prior to Exfiltration.
T1552.001 Credentials In Files Credential Access
Adversaries may search local file systems and remote file shares for files containing insecurely stored credentials.
Why these techniques?

Path traversal enables arbitrary local file reads (T1005) including credentials (T1552.001) when config modification is possible.

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

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-35668Same product: Openclaw Openclaw
CVE-2026-44996Same product: Openclaw Openclaw
CVE-2026-41363Same product: Openclaw Openclaw
CVE-2026-27522Same product: Openclaw Openclaw
CVE-2026-28482Same product: Openclaw Openclaw
CVE-2026-41911Same product: Openclaw Openclaw
CVE-2026-53825Same product: Openclaw Openclaw
CVE-2026-32846Same product: Openclaw Openclaw
CVE-2026-32033Same product: Openclaw Openclaw
CVE-2026-3689Same product: Openclaw Openclaw

Affected Assets

openclaw
openclaw
≤ 2026.2.17

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)
  • SI-10 Information Input Validation
  • AC-6 Least Privilege
  • CM-5 Access Restrictions for Change
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

prevent

Validates $include directive paths to reject absolute paths, traversal sequences, and symlinks before file access occurs.

prevent

Ensures the OpenClaw process runs with only the minimal file-system privileges needed, blocking reads of sensitive files even if traversal succeeds.

prevent

Restricts modification of configuration files that contain $include directives, reducing the attack surface for introducing malicious paths.

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.

detects

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