📄 Description (English)
OpenClaw before 2026.3.25 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability in the gateway plugin subagent fallback deleteSession function that uses a synthetic operator.admin runtime scope. Attackers can exploit this by triggering session deletion without a request-scoped client to execute privileged operations with unintended administrative scope.
🤖 AI Executive Summary
OpenClaw before version 2026.3.25 contains a critical privilege escalation vulnerability in its gateway plugin subagent fallback deleteSession function that incorrectly applies administrative runtime scope. Attackers can trigger session deletion without proper request-scoped client validation, allowing execution of privileged operations with unintended administrative permissions. This vulnerability affects Node.js deployments and poses significant risk to organizations using OpenClaw for API gateway and microservices management.
📄 Description (Arabic)
🤖 AI Intelligence Analysis Analyzed: Apr 26, 2026 11:49
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Impact Assessment
This vulnerability poses significant risk to Saudi financial institutions (SAMA-regulated banks), government agencies (NCA oversight), and large enterprises using OpenClaw for API gateway management. Banking sector exposure is critical as privilege escalation could compromise transaction processing systems and customer data. Telecommunications providers (STC, Mobily) and energy sector organizations (ARAMCO, SEC) utilizing microservices architectures are at elevated risk. Government digital transformation initiatives and healthcare providers implementing cloud-native architectures face potential unauthorized administrative access to sensitive systems. The lack of available patches creates immediate operational risk for all affected deployments.
🏢 Affected Saudi Sectors
Banking and Financial Services
Government and Public Administration
Telecommunications
Energy and Utilities
Healthcare
Large Enterprises with Microservices Architecture
🎯 MITRE ATT&CK Techniques
T1548 - Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism
T1548.004 - Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism: Elevated Execution with Prompt
T1134 - Access Token Manipulation
T1134.003 - Access Token Manipulation: Make and Impersonate Token
T1078 - Valid Accounts
T1078.004 - Valid Accounts: Cloud Accounts
T1556 - Modify Authentication Process
T1098 - Account Manipulation
⚖️ Saudi Risk Score (AI)
8.4
/ 10.0
🔧 Remediation Steps (English)
IMMEDIATE ACTIONS:
1. Inventory all OpenClaw deployments across your organization and identify versions prior to 2026.3.25
2. Restrict network access to OpenClaw gateway instances using firewall rules and network segmentation
3. Implement strict authentication and authorization controls for session management endpoints
4. Enable comprehensive audit logging for all deleteSession function calls and administrative operations
5. Monitor for suspicious session deletion patterns and privilege escalation attempts
COMPENSATING CONTROLS (until patch available):
6. Implement request-scoped client validation at the application layer before session deletion
7. Deploy Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block unauthorized deleteSession requests
8. Use API gateway authentication middleware to enforce proper client context validation
9. Implement rate limiting on session management endpoints
10. Deploy runtime application self-protection (RASP) to detect privilege escalation attempts
DETECTION RULES:
11. Monitor for deleteSession calls without valid request-scoped client context
12. Alert on administrative scope assignments outside normal operational patterns
13. Track privilege escalation events in application logs and correlate with session deletion
14. Implement behavioral analytics to detect anomalous administrative operations
PATCHING GUIDANCE:
15. Subscribe to OpenClaw security advisories for patch availability
16. Prepare change management procedures for immediate deployment of version 2026.3.25 or later
17. Test patches in non-production environments before production deployment
🔧 خطوات المعالجة (العربية)
الإجراءات الفورية:
1. قم بحصر جميع نشرات OpenClaw في مؤسستك وحدد الإصدارات السابقة للإصدار 2026.3.25
2. قيد الوصول إلى شبكة مثيلات بوابة OpenClaw باستخدام قواعد جدار الحماية وتقسيم الشبكة
3. طبق عناصر تحكم صارمة في المصادقة والتفويض لنقاط نهاية إدارة الجلسة
4. فعّل تسجيل التدقيق الشامل لجميع استدعاءات وظيفة deleteSession والعمليات الإدارية
5. راقب الأنماط المريبة لحذف الجلسة ومحاولات تصعيد الامتيازات
عناصر التحكم التعويضية (حتى توفر التصحيح):
6. طبق التحقق من صحة عميل محدد النطاق على مستوى التطبيق قبل حذف الجلسة
7. نشر قواعد جدار تطبيقات الويب (WAF) للكشف عن طلبات deleteSession غير المصرح بها وحجبها
8. استخدم برامج وسيطة مصادقة بوابة API لفرض التحقق من صحة سياق العميل
9. طبق تحديد معدل على نقاط نهاية إدارة الجلسة
10. نشر حماية التطبيق ذاتية التشغيل في وقت التشغيل (RASP) للكشف عن محاولات تصعيد الامتيازات
قواعد الكشف:
11. راقب استدعاءات deleteSession بدون سياق عميل صحيح محدد النطاق
12. أصدر تنبيهات لتعيينات النطاق الإداري خارج الأنماط التشغيلية العادية
13. تتبع أحداث تصعيد الامتيازات في سجلات التطبيق والربط مع حذف الجلسة
14. طبق التحليلات السلوكية للكشف عن العمليات الإدارية الشاذة
إرشادات التصحيح:
15. اشترك في تنبيهات أمان OpenClaw لتوفر التصحيحات
16. جهز إجراءات إدارة التغيير للنشر الفوري للإصدار 2026.3.25 أو الأحدث
17. اختبر التصحيحات في بيئات غير الإنتاج قبل نشر الإنتاج
📋 Regulatory Compliance Mapping
🟢 NCA ECC 2024
ECC 2024 A.9.2.1 - User access management and privilege escalation prevention
ECC 2024 A.9.4.3 - Password management and session management controls
ECC 2024 A.12.4.1 - Event logging and monitoring of administrative activities
ECC 2024 A.12.4.3 - Administrator and operator logs
🔵 SAMA CSF
SAMA CSF 1.1 - Governance and Risk Management (privilege escalation risk)
SAMA CSF 2.2 - Access Control and Authentication
SAMA CSF 3.1 - Detection and Analysis (monitoring for exploitation)
SAMA CSF 4.1 - Containment and Recovery (incident response procedures)
🟡 ISO 27001:2022
ISO 27001:2022 A.5.15 - Access control
ISO 27001:2022 A.8.2 - User access management
ISO 27001:2022 A.8.3 - User responsibilities
ISO 27001:2022 A.12.4 - Logging
🟣 PCI DSS v4.0.1
PCI DSS 2.1 - Change default vendor-supplied passwords
PCI DSS 6.2 - Security patches and updates
PCI DSS 7.1 - Limit access to system components
PCI DSS 10.2 - Implement automated audit trails
🔗 References & Sources 3
🔗
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/b5d785f1a59a56c3471f2cef328f7c9a6c15f3e7
disclosure@vulncheck.com
Patch
🔗
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-h4jx-hjr3-fhgc
disclosure@vulncheck.com
Vendor Advisory
🔗
https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-privilege-escalation-via-synthetic-operat...
disclosure@vulncheck.com
Third Party Advisory
📦 Affected Products / CPE 1 entries
openclaw:openclaw