{"id":"GHSA-r39h-4c2p-3jxp","summary":"OpenClaw vulnerable to arbitrary code execution via attacker-controlled setup-api.js loaded from cwd during env-key resolution","details":"## Summary\n\nOpenClaw's bundled plugin setup resolver could fall back to `process.cwd()` while resolving provider setup metadata. If a user ran an OpenClaw command from an attacker-controlled repository containing `extensions/\u003cplugin\u003e/setup-api.js`, OpenClaw could load and execute that JavaScript during ordinary provider/model status resolution.\n\n## Impact\n\nThis is arbitrary JavaScript execution in the OpenClaw process under the current user account. A malicious repository could run code when the user executed commands such as provider/model inspection from that directory. The issue does not require gateway network exposure, but it does require user interaction: the user must run OpenClaw from a directory containing the attacker-controlled setup file.\n\n## Affected Packages / Versions\n\n- Package: `openclaw` on npm\n- Affected: versions before `2026.4.23`\n- Fixed: `2026.4.23`\n- Latest stable verified fixed: `openclaw@2026.4.23`, tag `v2026.4.23`\n\n## Fix\n\nOpenClaw now resolves bundled setup fallbacks only from the canonical package/repository root and no longer includes `process.cwd()` as a trusted setup-api search root. A regression test verifies that a workspace-local `extensions/\u003cplugin\u003e/setup-api.js` is not loaded through provider setup resolution.\n\n## Fix Commit(s)\n\n- `993781e6e6eaf50f033cfc3e3bf4f47059740707` (`fix(plugins): ignore cwd setup-api fallback`)\n\n## Severity\n\nSeverity remains `high` because successful exploitation allows arbitrary code execution under the user running OpenClaw. The CVSS vector is local/user-interaction scoped rather than network-only because the victim must run OpenClaw from an attacker-controlled directory.","aliases":["CVE-2026-45004"],"modified":"2026-05-19T16:11:27.270216Z","published":"2026-05-05T18:43:44Z","database_specific":{"cwe_ids":["CWE-94"],"severity":"HIGH","github_reviewed":true,"github_reviewed_at":"2026-05-05T18:43:44Z","nvd_published_at":null},"references":[{"type":"WEB","url":"https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-r39h-4c2p-3jxp"},{"type":"ADVISORY","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-45004"},{"type":"WEB","url":"https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/993781e6e6eaf50f033cfc3e3bf4f47059740707"},{"type":"PACKAGE","url":"https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw"},{"type":"WEB","url":"https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-arbitrary-code-execution-via-setup-api-js-in-current-working-directory"}],"affected":[{"package":{"name":"openclaw","ecosystem":"npm","purl":"pkg:npm/openclaw"},"ranges":[{"type":"SEMVER","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"2026.4.23"}]}],"database_specific":{"source":"https://github.com/github/advisory-database/blob/main/advisories/github-reviewed/2026/05/GHSA-r39h-4c2p-3jxp/GHSA-r39h-4c2p-3jxp.json"}}],"schema_version":"1.9.0","severity":[{"type":"CVSS_V3","score":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"}]}