📄 Description (English)
OpenClaw before 2026.3.28 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability allowing authenticated operators with write permissions to access admin-class Telegram configuration and cron persistence settings via the send endpoint. Attackers with operator.write credentials can exploit insufficient access controls to reach sensitive administrative functionality and modify persistence mechanisms.
🤖 AI Executive Summary
OpenClaw before version 2026.3.28 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability (CVE-2026-41359) with CVSS 7.1 that allows authenticated operators with write permissions to access sensitive admin-class Telegram configuration and cron persistence settings. Attackers exploiting insufficient access controls can modify persistence mechanisms and administrative functionality, posing significant risk to organizations using OpenClaw for automation and monitoring. No patch is currently available, requiring immediate compensating controls and access restriction measures.
📄 Description (Arabic)
🤖 AI Intelligence Analysis Analyzed: May 9, 2026 17:49
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Impact Assessment
Saudi organizations using OpenClaw for infrastructure automation, particularly in government agencies (NCA, CITC), banking sector (SAMA-regulated institutions), and critical infrastructure operators face elevated risk. The vulnerability enables persistence mechanism modification and unauthorized administrative access, potentially compromising security monitoring, incident response capabilities, and system integrity. Energy sector operators (ARAMCO, SEC) and telecommunications providers (STC, Mobily) utilizing OpenClaw for operational automation are particularly vulnerable to supply chain compromise and unauthorized persistence installation.
🏢 Affected Saudi Sectors
Government (NCA, CITC, Ministry of Interior)
Banking and Financial Services (SAMA-regulated institutions)
Energy and Utilities (ARAMCO, SEC)
Telecommunications (STC, Mobily, Zain)
Healthcare (MOH, private hospitals)
Critical Infrastructure Operators
🎯 MITRE ATT&CK Techniques
T1548 - Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism
T1548.002 - Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism: Bypass User Account Control
T1547 - Boot or Logon Autostart Execution
T1547.006 - Boot or Logon Autostart Execution: Kernel Modules and Extensions
T1098 - Account Manipulation
T1098.002 - Account Manipulation: Exchange Email Delegate Permissions
T1133 - External Remote Services
T1021 - Remote Service Session Initiation
⚖️ Saudi Risk Score (AI)
7.8
/ 10.0
🔧 Remediation Steps (English)
IMMEDIATE ACTIONS:
1. Audit all operator.write credential assignments and restrict to minimum necessary personnel
2. Implement network segmentation isolating OpenClaw send endpoint from untrusted networks
3. Enable comprehensive logging and monitoring of all send endpoint requests with focus on Telegram configuration and cron modifications
4. Review audit logs for unauthorized access to admin-class settings and persistence mechanisms
COMPENSATING CONTROLS:
5. Implement API gateway with role-based access control (RBAC) enforcing operator.write restrictions at network layer
6. Deploy Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules blocking send endpoint requests containing Telegram or cron configuration parameters
7. Establish privileged access management (PAM) solution requiring multi-factor authentication for operator.write credentials
8. Implement file integrity monitoring (FIM) on cron configuration files and Telegram settings
DETECTION RULES:
9. Alert on send endpoint requests with parameters: 'telegram_config', 'admin_settings', 'cron_persistence', 'persistence_mechanism'
10. Monitor for privilege escalation patterns: operator.write credentials accessing admin-class endpoints
11. Track modifications to cron jobs and Telegram configuration files with source attribution
12. Monitor for unusual send endpoint request patterns from operator.write accounts
PATCHING:
13. Subscribe to OpenClaw security advisories for version 2026.3.28+ release
14. Prepare upgrade testing environment immediately upon patch availability
15. Plan emergency patching window with change management approval
🔧 خطوات المعالجة (العربية)
الإجراءات الفورية:
1. تدقيق جميع تعيينات بيانات اعتماد operator.write وتقييد الوصول للأشخاص الضروريين فقط
2. تنفيذ تقسيم الشبكة لعزل نقطة نهاية send في OpenClaw عن الشبكات غير الموثوقة
3. تفعيل السجلات الشاملة ومراقبة جميع طلبات نقطة نهاية send مع التركيز على تعديلات إعدادات Telegram و cron
4. مراجعة سجلات التدقيق للوصول غير المصرح إلى الإعدادات الإدارية وآليات الاستمرارية
التدابير التعويضية:
5. تنفيذ بوابة API مع التحكم في الوصول القائم على الأدوار (RBAC) لفرض قيود operator.write على مستوى الشبكة
6. نشر قواعد جدار حماية تطبيقات الويب (WAF) لحجب طلبات نقطة نهاية send التي تحتوي على معاملات إعدادات Telegram أو cron
7. إنشاء حل إدارة الوصول المميز (PAM) يتطلب المصادقة متعددة العوامل لبيانات اعتماد operator.write
8. تنفيذ مراقبة سلامة الملفات (FIM) على ملفات إعدادات cron وإعدادات Telegram
قواعد الكشف:
9. تنبيهات على طلبات نقطة نهاية send بالمعاملات: 'telegram_config'، 'admin_settings'، 'cron_persistence'، 'persistence_mechanism'
10. مراقبة أنماط تصعيد الامتيازات: بيانات اعتماد operator.write تصل إلى نقاط نهاية إدارية
11. تتبع التعديلات على وظائف cron وملفات إعدادات Telegram مع نسب المصدر
12. مراقبة أنماط طلبات نقطة نهاية send غير العادية من حسابات operator.write
التصحيح:
13. الاشتراك في تنبيهات أمان OpenClaw لإصدار 2026.3.28+
14. تحضير بيئة اختبار الترقية فوراً عند توفر التصحيح
15. تخطيط نافذة تصحيح طارئة مع موافقة إدارة التغيير
📋 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 - Access control review and monitoring
ECC 2024 A.12.4.1 - Event logging and monitoring of administrative functions
ECC 2024 A.12.4.3 - Protection of log information
🔵 SAMA CSF
SAMA CSF ID.AM-2 - Software and hardware inventory management
SAMA CSF PR.AC-1 - Access control policy and procedures
SAMA CSF PR.AC-4 - Access rights and privilege management
SAMA CSF DE.CM-1 - System monitoring and anomaly detection
🟡 ISO 27001:2022
ISO 27001:2022 A.5.15 - Access control
ISO 27001:2022 A.8.2 - Privileged access rights
ISO 27001:2022 A.8.3 - Information access restriction
ISO 27001:2022 A.12.4.1 - Event logging
🟣 PCI DSS v4.0.1
PCI DSS 7.1 - Limit access to system components by business need-to-know
PCI DSS 8.2 - Ensure proper user identification and authentication
PCI DSS 10.2 - Implement automated audit trails for all system components
🔗 References & Sources 3
🔗
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/b7d70ade3b9900dbe97bd73be9c02e924ff3c986
disclosure@vulncheck.com
Patch
🔗
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-767m-xrhc-fxm7
disclosure@vulncheck.com
Vendor Advisory
🔗
https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-privilege-escalation-via-operator-write-t...
disclosure@vulncheck.com
Third Party Advisory
📦 Affected Products / CPE 1 entries
openclaw:openclaw