CVE-2026-35637
Published: 09 April 2026
Summary
CVE-2026-35637 is a medium-severity Incorrect Behavior Order (CWE-696) vulnerability in Openclaw Openclaw. Its CVSS base score is 6.9 (Medium).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked at the 18.0th 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 are NIST 800-53 AC-3 (Access Enforcement) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation).
Deeper analysis
CVE-2026-35637 is a timing vulnerability (CWE-696) in OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.3.22, where the software performs cite expansion before completing authorization checks for channels and direct messages (DMs). This allows cite work and content handling to occur prior to final authentication decisions, potentially bypassing intended access controls. The vulnerability carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.3 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L), indicating high severity due to its network accessibility and lack of prerequisites.
Remote attackers require no privileges or user interaction to exploit this issue over the network with low complexity. Successful exploitation enables premature access or manipulation of content in channels and DMs before proper authorization validation, resulting in low-level impacts to confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Mitigation involves upgrading to OpenClaw 2026.3.22 or later, as detailed in GitHub security advisory GHSA-vfg3-pqpq-93m4 and the referenced fix commits (3cbf932413e41d1836cb91aed1541a28a3122f93, 630f1479c44f78484dfa21bb407cbe6f171dac87, ebee4e2210e1f282a982c7ef2ad79d77a572fc87). Additional analysis is available in the VulnCheck advisory at https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-premature-cite-expansion-before-authorization-in-channel-and-dm.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-21130
Vulnerability details
OpenClaw before 2026.3.22 performs cite expansion before completing channel and DM authorization checks, allowing cite work and content handling prior to final auth decisions. Attackers can exploit this timing vulnerability to access or manipulate content before proper authorization validation occurs.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
The CVE describes a remote authorization bypass vulnerability in a network-accessible application (OpenClaw) due to premature cite expansion before auth checks, directly matching exploitation of public-facing applications for initial unauthorized access.
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Requires enforcement of approved authorizations before content handling, directly preventing premature cite expansion prior to channel and DM authorization checks.
Mandates identification, reporting, and correction of the specific timing vulnerability through patching to OpenClaw 2026.3.22 or later.
Enforces controls on information flow to block unauthorized content access or manipulation during cite expansion before full authorization.