📄 Description (English)
OpenClaw before 2026.3.25 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability where silent local shared-auth reconnects auto-approve scope-upgrade requests, widening paired device permissions from operator.read to operator.admin. Attackers can exploit this by triggering local reconnection to silently escalate privileges and achieve remote code execution on the node.
🤖 AI Executive Summary
CVE-2026-35625 is a critical privilege escalation vulnerability in OpenClaw before version 2026.3.25 affecting Node.js deployments. The vulnerability allows local attackers to silently escalate permissions from operator.read to operator.admin through auto-approved scope-upgrade requests during shared-auth reconnection, potentially leading to remote code execution. This poses significant risk to Saudi organizations running OpenClaw-based infrastructure, particularly in cloud and containerized environments.
📄 Description (Arabic)
🤖 AI Intelligence Analysis Analyzed: Apr 27, 2026 17:40
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Impact Assessment
This vulnerability primarily impacts Saudi organizations in: (1) Financial Technology & Banking sector — fintech startups and banks using OpenClaw for API management and microservices orchestration; (2) Government & Digital Transformation — NCDC, CITC, and government agencies deploying Node.js-based services; (3) Telecommunications — STC, Mobily, and Zain infrastructure teams running OpenClaw in cloud environments; (4) Healthcare — MNGHA and private hospitals using OpenClaw for health information systems; (5) Energy Sector — ARAMCO and downstream companies with Node.js deployments. The silent privilege escalation without user interaction makes detection difficult and increases breach risk across all sectors.
🏢 Affected Saudi Sectors
Banking & Financial Services
Government & Public Administration
Telecommunications
Healthcare
Energy & Utilities
Cloud Service Providers
Technology & Software Development
🎯 MITRE ATT&CK Techniques
T1548.004 — Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism: Elevated Execution with Prompt
T1548 — Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism
T1134 — Access Token Manipulation
T1078 — Valid Accounts (using escalated privileges)
T1059 — Command and Scripting Interpreter (RCE via escalated privileges)
T1098 — Account Manipulation (scope-upgrade auto-approval)
T1021 — Remote Service Session Initiation (via escalated local access)
⚖️ Saudi Risk Score (AI)
8.2
/ 10.0
🔧 Remediation Steps (English)
IMMEDIATE ACTIONS:
1. Identify all OpenClaw deployments in your environment: grep -r 'openclaw' package.json && npm list openclaw
2. Isolate affected systems from production networks if running versions before 2026.3.25
3. Review access logs for suspicious local reconnection events and scope-upgrade requests
4. Disable auto-approval of scope-upgrade requests in OpenClaw configuration immediately
PATCHING GUIDANCE:
1. Upgrade to OpenClaw version 2026.3.25 or later when available
2. Monitor OpenClaw GitHub releases and security advisories for patch availability
3. Implement staged rollout testing in non-production environments first
COMPENSATING CONTROLS (until patch available):
1. Implement strict local access controls: restrict SSH/RDP access to OpenClaw nodes
2. Enable mandatory MFA for all local system access
3. Deploy SELinux/AppArmor policies to restrict Node.js process capabilities
4. Implement network segmentation isolating OpenClaw nodes from untrusted networks
5. Disable local shared-auth reconnection if not required for operations
6. Implement principle of least privilege — run OpenClaw with minimal required permissions
DETECTION RULES:
1. Monitor for repeated local reconnection attempts: grep 'reconnect' /var/log/openclaw/*.log
2. Alert on scope-upgrade requests from operator.read to operator.admin
3. Monitor Node.js process privilege changes using auditd: auditctl -w /proc -p wa -k openclaw_priv
4. Track authentication token scope changes in application logs
5. Monitor for unexpected RCE indicators: child process spawning from Node.js, network connections from OpenClaw process
🔧 خطوات المعالجة (العربية)
الإجراءات الفورية:
1. تحديد جميع نشرات OpenClaw في بيئتك: grep -r 'openclaw' package.json && npm list openclaw
2. عزل الأنظمة المتأثرة عن شبكات الإنتاج إذا كانت تعمل بإصدارات قبل 2026.3.25
3. مراجعة سجلات الوصول للأحداث المريبة لإعادة الاتصال المحلي وطلبات ترقية النطاق
4. تعطيل الموافقة التلقائية على طلبات ترقية النطاق في تكوين OpenClaw فوراً
إرشادات التصحيح:
1. الترقية إلى إصدار OpenClaw 2026.3.25 أو أحدث عند توفره
2. مراقبة إصدارات OpenClaw GitHub والتنبيهات الأمنية لتوفر التصحيح
3. تنفيذ اختبار التطبيق المرحلي في بيئات غير الإنتاج أولاً
الضوابط البديلة (حتى توفر التصحيح):
1. تنفيذ ضوابط وصول محلية صارمة: تقييد وصول SSH/RDP إلى عقد OpenClaw
2. تفعيل المصادقة متعددة العوامل الإلزامية لجميع الوصول المحلي للنظام
3. نشر سياسات SELinux/AppArmor لتقييد قدرات عملية Node.js
4. تنفيذ تقسيم الشبكة لعزل عقد OpenClaw عن الشبكات غير الموثوقة
5. تعطيل إعادة الاتصال بالمصادقة المشتركة المحلية إذا لم تكن مطلوبة للعمليات
6. تنفيذ مبدأ أقل امتياز — تشغيل OpenClaw بأقل صلاحيات مطلوبة
قواعد الكشف:
1. مراقبة محاولات إعادة الاتصال المحلي المتكررة: grep 'reconnect' /var/log/openclaw/*.log
2. التنبيه على طلبات ترقية النطاق من operator.read إلى operator.admin
3. مراقبة تغييرات امتيازات عملية Node.js باستخدام auditd: auditctl -w /proc -p wa -k openclaw_priv
4. تتبع تغييرات نطاق رمز المصادقة في سجلات التطبيق
5. مراقبة مؤشرات RCE غير المتوقعة: توليد العمليات الفرعية من Node.js، الاتصالات الشبكية من عملية OpenClaw
📋 Regulatory Compliance Mapping
🟢 NCA ECC 2024
ECC 2024 A.5.1.1 — Access Control Policy (privilege escalation violates least privilege)
ECC 2024 A.6.1.2 — User Registration and Access Rights Management
ECC 2024 A.8.2.1 — User Access Management (unauthorized privilege elevation)
ECC 2024 A.9.2.1 — User Access Review (scope-upgrade auto-approval bypasses review)
ECC 2024 A.12.4.1 — Event Logging (insufficient logging of privilege changes)
🔵 SAMA CSF
SAMA CSF ID.AM-1 — Asset Management (identify all OpenClaw deployments)
SAMA CSF PR.AC-1 — Access Control Policy and Procedures
SAMA CSF PR.AC-3 — Access Enforcement (privilege escalation circumvents controls)
SAMA CSF DE.CM-1 — System Monitoring (detect unauthorized privilege elevation)
SAMA CSF RS.MI-2 — Incident Response and Mitigation
🟡 ISO 27001:2022
ISO 27001:2022 A.5.2 — Information Security Policies (access control policy)
ISO 27001:2022 A.6.2 — Internal Organization (segregation of duties violated)
ISO 27001:2022 A.8.2 — User Access Management (privilege escalation)
ISO 27001:2022 A.8.3 — User Responsibilities (authentication and authorization)
ISO 27001:2022 A.8.4 — Access Rights Review (scope-upgrade auto-approval)
ISO 27001:2022 A.12.4 — Logging (insufficient audit trail of privilege changes)
🟣 PCI DSS v4.0.1
PCI DSS 2.1 — Default Security Parameters (auto-approval violates principle)
PCI DSS 6.2 — Security Patches (patch management required)
PCI DSS 7.1 — Access Control (privilege escalation violates least privilege)
PCI DSS 8.1 — User Identification and Authentication
PCI DSS 10.2 — Logging and Monitoring (detect privilege escalation)
🔗 References & Sources 3
🔗
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/81ebc7e0344fd19c85778e883bad45e2da972229
disclosure@vulncheck.com
Patch
🔗
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-fqw4-mph7-2vr8
disclosure@vulncheck.com
Vendor Advisory
🔗
https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-privilege-escalation-via-silent-local-sha...
disclosure@vulncheck.com
Third Party Advisory
📦 Affected Products / CPE 1 entries
openclaw:openclaw