CVE-2026-41329
Openclaw ≤ 2026.3.31
Raw vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H/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-2026-41329 is a critical-severity Incorrect Use of Privileged APIs (CWE-648) vulnerability in Openclaw Openclaw. Its CVSS base score is 9.0 (Critical).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism (T1548); 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 SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and AC-3 (Access 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-2026-41329 is a sandbox bypass vulnerability in OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.3.31, stemming from improper context validation in heartbeat context inheritance and senderIsOwner parameter manipulation. This flaw, associated with CWE-648, enables attackers to circumvent sandbox restrictions and escalate privileges. The vulnerability received a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.9 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H), highlighting its critical severity due to network accessibility, low complexity, and high impact across confidentiality, integrity, and availability with a changed scope. It was published on 2026-04-21.
A low-privileged remote attacker (PR:L) can exploit this vulnerability over the network without user interaction. By manipulating the senderIsOwner parameter and leveraging heartbeat context inheritance, the attacker bypasses sandbox boundaries, achieving unauthorized privilege escalation. Successful exploitation grants high-level access, potentially compromising the entire system.
Mitigation involves updating to OpenClaw version 2026.3.31 or later, as detailed in the project's GitHub security advisory (GHSA-g5cg-8x5w-7jpm) and the fixing commit (a30214a624946fc5c85c9558a27c1580172374fd). Additional guidance is available in the VulnCheck advisory, emphasizing prompt patching to address the context validation issues.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-24017
Vulnerability Data
OpenClaw before 2026.3.31 contains a sandbox bypass vulnerability allowing attackers to escalate privileges via heartbeat context inheritance and senderIsOwner parameter manipulation. Attackers can exploit improper context validation to bypass sandbox restrictions and achieve unauthorized privilege escalation.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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V3.5.2V6.4.6
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Developer testing and evaluation can discover incorrect calls to privileged APIs before deployment.
Enforces authorization checks around privileged operations so that an API requiring elevated rights cannot be reached or misused without proper rights.
Least-privilege assignment directly reduces both the availability of privileged APIs and the blast radius when they are invoked incorrectly.
Security engineering principles include correct use of privileged interfaces and safe invocation patterns that stop the weakness from being introduced.
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.
Secure SDLC practices directly enforce correct usage of privileged APIs during development.
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 can detect incorrect privileged API calls but does not prevent them at design time.
Restricting privileged utility programs limits the exposure of privileged APIs to misuse.
Privileged access rights directly govern the correct use of privileged APIs and reduce misuse.
Secure development lifecycle includes API usage standards that can prevent incorrect privileged calls.
Application security requirements can specify correct invocation of privileged APIs.
Secure architecture principles guide proper privilege separation and API usage.