CVE-2026-33573
Openclaw ≤ 2026.3.11
Raw vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/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:XCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2026-33573 is a high-severity Exposure of Resource to Wrong Sphere (CWE-668) vulnerability in Openclaw Openclaw. Its CVSS base score is 8.7 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Data from Local System (T1005); ranked at the 22th 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-4 (Information Flow Enforcement) — 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-2026-33573, published on 2026-03-29, is an authorization bypass vulnerability (CWE-668) in the gateway agent RPC component of OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.3.11. It enables authenticated operators with operator.write permission to override configured workspace boundaries by supplying attacker-controlled spawnedBy and workspaceDir values. This flaw allows remote operators to escape workspace restrictions and perform arbitrary file and exec operations from any process-accessible directory on the system.
The vulnerability has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H), indicating high severity due to network accessibility, low attack complexity, and low required privileges with no user interaction. An authenticated attacker with operator.write permissions can exploit it remotely to bypass isolation controls, achieving full read/write/execute access outside the intended workspace, potentially leading to complete system compromise depending on the host environment and process privileges.
Mitigation details are provided in the official advisories, including the GitHub Security Advisory at https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-2rqg-gjgv-84jm and the VulnCheck advisory at https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-workspace-boundary-bypass-via-agent-rpc-parameters. Upgrading to OpenClaw 2026.3.11 or later resolves the issue by enforcing proper validation of RPC parameters.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-17026
Vulnerability Data
OpenClaw before 2026.3.11 contains an authorization bypass vulnerability in the gateway agent RPC that allows authenticated operators with operator.write permission to override workspace boundaries by supplying attacker-controlled spawnedBy and workspaceDir values. Remote operators can escape the configured workspace boundary and…
more
execute arbitrary file and exec operations from any process-accessible directory.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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- 6 hardening rules · 5 OS baselines
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Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Access enforcement directly stops resources from being reachable by actors outside the intended control sphere.
Information flow enforcement structurally prevents unintended cross-sphere data or resource exposure.
Least privilege reduces the set of actors that can reach a resource, limiting wrong-sphere exposure.
Security attributes enable correct sphere assignment and subsequent enforcement decisions.
Boundary protection at interfaces prevents resources from being exposed outside authorized spheres.
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.
Enforcing least-privilege authorizations directly prevents resources from being exposed outside their intended control sphere.
Network segmentation and unauthorized-access protections reduce the chance of resources being reachable by the wrong sphere.
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.
Placing systems of differing trust levels into separate domains prevents resources from being placed in a sphere where they are reachable by unintended actors.
Hardening callouts derived
Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (higher-evidence rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).
Oracle Linux 8 (2 rules)
- V-248827 OL 8 must not have the rsh-server package installed. prevents CWE-668
- V-248823 OL 8 must not have the telnet-server package installed. prevents CWE-668
RHEL 7 (1 rule)
- V-204442 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must not have the rsh-server package installed. prevents CWE-668
Windows 10 (1 rule)
- V-220967 The Debug programs user right must only be assigned to the Administrators group. prevents CWE-668
Windows Server 2016 (1 rule)
- V-225079 The Debug programs user right must only be assigned to the Administrators group. prevents CWE-668
Windows Server 2019 (1 rule)
- V-205757 Windows Server 2019 Debug programs: user right must only be assigned to the Administrators group. prevents CWE-668