Is this vulnerability remotely exploitable?

Yes. Any attacker who can reach the exposed OpenClaw WebSocket gateway and authenticate with a valid shared token or credentials may be able to claim elevated scopes.

Does exploitation require administrative credentials?

No. The flaw allows non-admin authenticated users, including those using shared tokens, to self-declare privileged scopes that are not legitimately assigned to them.

What is the safest general fix pattern?

Enforce strict server-side control of scopes: ignore client-supplied scope claims, derive effective permissions from trusted token claims or role mappings, and ensure all administrative operations are guarded by explicit authorization checks.

Severity:

CRITICAL RISK

(9.9)

Missing Authorization (CWE-862) in OpenClaw WebSocket Scope Handling

CVE-2026-22172

Published:

Mar 20, 2026

Status:

Analyzed

Summary

Affected Context

Exploit Preconditions

Why This Happens

Potential Impact

General Mitigation Guidance

How Teams Detect Issues Like This

Frequently Asked Questions

Source

NDV

Recent Vulnerabilities

CWE-918

HIGH RISK

HIGH

(8.6)

Server-Side Request Forgery (CWE-918) in OpenClaw Zalo Plugin sendPhoto

Unauthorized Access to Internal Resources via SSRF

May 6, 2026

CWE-863

HIGH RISK

HIGH

(8.8)

Authorization Bypass (CWE-863) in OpenClaw Matrix Room Control Commands

Privilege Escalation via Bypassed Access Control

May 6, 2026

Vulnerability Type

Category:

Authorization Bypass

CWE:

CWE-862

Impact:

Privilege Escalation to Administrative Operations

Severity:

CRITICAL RISK

(9.9)

CVSS Version:

3.1

Vulnerability Type

Category:

Authorization Bypass

CWE:

CWE-862

Impact:

Privilege Escalation to Administrative Operations

Severity:

CRITICAL RISK

(9.9)

CVSS Version:

3.1

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Missing Authorization (CWE-862) in OpenClaw WebSocket Scope Handling

Summary

Affected Context

Exploit Preconditions

Why This Happens

Potential Impact

General Mitigation Guidance

How Teams Detect Issues Like This

Frequently Asked Questions

Source

Recent Vulnerabilities

HIGH RISK

HIGH

(8.6)

Server-Side Request Forgery (CWE-918) in OpenClaw Zalo Plugin sendPhoto

HIGH RISK

HIGH

(8.8)

Authorization Bypass (CWE-863) in OpenClaw Matrix Room Control Commands

Vulnerability Type

Vulnerability Type

Vulnerability Type

Catch This CVE While Code Is Being Written

Ship clean & secure code faster

Ship clean & secure code faster

Ship clean & secure code faster

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