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CVE-2026-35639

CRITICAL

OpenClaw Gateway: RCE and Privilege Escalation from operator.pairing to operator.admin via device.pair.approve

Published March 26, 2026Updated April 10, 2026Source: osv

Summary

## Summary device.pair.approve allowed an operator.pairing approver to approve a pending device request for broader operator scopes than the approver actually held. ## Affected Packages / Versions - Package: `openclaw` (npm) - Affected: < 2026.3.22 - Fixed: >= 2026.3.22 - Latest released tag checked: `v2026.3.23-2` (`630f1479c44f78484dfa21bb407cbe6f171dac87`) - Latest published npm version checked: `2026.3.23-2` ## Fix Commit(s) - `fc2d29ea926f47c428c556e92ec981441228d2a4` ## Release Status The fix shipped in `v2026.3.22` and remains present in `v2026.3.23` and `v2026.3.23-2`. ## Code-Level Confirmation - src/gateway/server-methods/devices.ts now threads caller scopes into device.pair.approve. - src/infra/device-pairing.ts now rejects requested operator scopes that exceed the approver-held operator scope set. OpenClaw thanks @zpbrent for reporting.

Remediation

Upgrade to the fixed version using your package manager.

npm
Update openclaw to 2026.3.22 or later
npm install openclaw@2026.3.22

After upgrading, run your dependency scanner again to confirm the vulnerability is resolved.

Affected Packages (1)

PackageEcosystemAffectedFixed In
openclaw
npm
All versions2026.3.22

Vulnerability Classification

Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) identifiers for this vulnerability type.

  • CWE-269
    Improper Privilege ManagementMITRE

CVSS Score Breakdown

What the CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) 9.9 score means for each attack dimension.

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
—
Confidentiality
—
Integrity
—
Availability
—

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-35639?
OpenClaw Gateway: RCE and Privilege Escalation from operator.pairing to operator.admin via device.pair.approve This vulnerability has been assigned a severity rating of CRITICAL (CVSS score: 9.9/10).
How do I check if my project is affected by CVE-2026-35639?
CVE-2026-35639 affects openclaw. Use GeekWala's free vulnerability scanner to check your dependencies against CVE-2026-35639 and 200,000+ other known vulnerabilities.

Severity & Exploitability

CVSS Score
9.9

Exploitation is straightforward and causes maximum impact. Patch immediately.

Also Known As

GHSA-hf68-49fm-59cq

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