📄 Description (English)
OpenClaw before 2026.3.22 performs cite expansion before completing channel and DM authorization checks, allowing cite work and content handling prior to final auth decisions. Attackers can exploit this timing vulnerability to access or manipulate content before proper authorization validation occurs.
🤖 AI Executive Summary
CVE-2026-35637 is a timing-based authorization bypass vulnerability in OpenClaw affecting versions before 2026.3.22, where cite expansion occurs before channel and DM authorization checks are completed. This allows attackers to access or manipulate content before proper authorization validation, with a CVSS score of 7.3 (high). The vulnerability poses significant risk to organizations using OpenClaw for collaborative communication, particularly those handling sensitive data. No patch is currently available, requiring immediate compensating controls.
📄 Description (Arabic)
🤖 AI Intelligence Analysis Analyzed: May 6, 2026 01:16
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Impact Assessment
This vulnerability poses significant risk to Saudi government agencies, financial institutions, and large enterprises using OpenClaw for internal communications. Government entities under NCA oversight and SAMA-regulated financial institutions are particularly vulnerable due to their handling of classified and sensitive financial data. Telecom operators (STC, Mobily) and energy sector organizations (ARAMCO) using OpenClaw for collaborative platforms face risks of unauthorized access to operational communications. Healthcare organizations and educational institutions managing patient/student data through OpenClaw are also at elevated risk. The timing-based nature of the vulnerability makes it difficult to detect through standard logging mechanisms.
🏢 Affected Saudi Sectors
Banking and Financial Services
Government and Public Administration
Healthcare and Medical Services
Energy and Utilities
Telecommunications
Education
Defense and Security
Large Enterprises with Collaborative Platforms
🎯 MITRE ATT&CK Techniques
T1548 - Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism
T1548.002 - Bypass User Account Control
T1110 - Brute Force
T1555 - Credentials from Password Stores
T1187 - Forced Authentication
T1566 - Phishing
T1199 - Trusted Relationship
T1078 - Valid Accounts
T1526 - Enumerate Cloud Resources
T1087 - Account Discovery
⚖️ Saudi Risk Score (AI)
7.8
/ 10.0
🔧 Remediation Steps (English)
IMMEDIATE ACTIONS:
1. Inventory all OpenClaw deployments across your organization and identify versions prior to 2026.3.22
2. Restrict access to OpenClaw instances to trusted networks only using network segmentation and firewall rules
3. Disable cite expansion functionality if available through configuration settings
4. Implement enhanced logging and monitoring of all cite expansion and authorization events
5. Review access logs for suspicious patterns of content access prior to authorization completion
COMPENSATING CONTROLS:
6. Implement application-level authorization checks before any content is returned to users
7. Deploy Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block suspicious cite expansion requests
8. Enforce multi-factor authentication for all OpenClaw access
9. Implement rate limiting on cite expansion endpoints
10. Conduct immediate security audit of all content accessed through OpenClaw in the past 30 days
DETECTION RULES:
11. Monitor for rapid sequential cite expansion requests from single users
12. Alert on cite expansion requests followed by authorization failures
13. Track timing anomalies between cite expansion initiation and authorization completion
14. Monitor for access to content by users lacking appropriate channel/DM permissions
PATCHING:
15. Subscribe to OpenClaw security advisories for patch availability
16. Plan immediate upgrade to version 2026.3.22 or later once available
17. Test patches in isolated environment before production deployment
🔧 خطوات المعالجة (العربية)
الإجراءات الفورية:
1. قم بحصر جميع نشرات OpenClaw عبر مؤسستك وحدد الإصدارات السابقة للإصدار 2026.3.22
2. قيد الوصول إلى مثيلات OpenClaw على الشبكات الموثوقة فقط باستخدام تقسيم الشبكة وقواعد جدار الحماية
3. عطّل وظيفة توسيع الاستشهاد إن أمكن من خلال إعدادات التكوين
4. طبّق تسجيل ومراقبة محسّنة لجميع أحداث توسيع الاستشهاد والتفويض
5. راجع سجلات الوصول للبحث عن أنماط مريبة للوصول إلى المحتوى قبل اكتمال التفويض
الضوابط التعويضية:
6. طبّق فحوصات التفويض على مستوى التطبيق قبل إرجاع أي محتوى للمستخدمين
7. نشّر قواعد جدار تطبيقات الويب (WAF) للكشف عن طلبات توسيع الاستشهاد المريبة وحجبها
8. فرض المصادقة متعددة العوامل لجميع عمليات الوصول إلى OpenClaw
9. طبّق تحديد معدل على نقاط نهاية توسيع الاستشهاد
10. أجرِ تدقيقاً أمنياً فورياً لجميع المحتوى الذي تم الوصول إليه عبر OpenClaw في آخر 30 يوماً
قواعد الكشف:
11. راقب طلبات توسيع الاستشهاد المتسلسلة السريعة من مستخدمين واحدين
12. أصدر تنبيهات لطلبات توسيع الاستشهاد متبوعة بفشل التفويض
13. تتبع الشذوذ الزمني بين بدء توسيع الاستشهاد واكتمال التفويض
14. راقب الوصول إلى المحتوى من قبل المستخدمين الذين يفتقرون إلى أذونات القناة/الرسائل المباشرة المناسبة
التصحيح:
15. اشترك في تنبيهات أمان OpenClaw لتوفر التصحيحات
16. خطّط للترقية الفورية إلى الإصدار 2026.3.22 أو أحدث عند توفره
17. اختبر التصحيحات في بيئة معزولة قبل نشرها في الإنتاج
📋 Regulatory Compliance Mapping
🟢 NCA ECC 2024
ECC 2024 A.5.1.1 - Access Control Policy
ECC 2024 A.5.2.1 - User Registration and Access Rights Management
ECC 2024 A.5.3.1 - Password Management
ECC 2024 A.6.1.1 - Information Security Roles and Responsibilities
ECC 2024 A.8.2.1 - User Access Management
ECC 2024 A.8.2.3 - Management of Privileged Access Rights
ECC 2024 A.9.2.1 - User Endpoint Devices
ECC 2024 A.12.4.1 - Event Logging
ECC 2024 A.12.4.3 - Protection of Log Information
🔵 SAMA CSF
SAMA CSF ID.AM-1 - Asset Management
SAMA CSF PR.AC-1 - Access Control Policy and Procedures
SAMA CSF PR.AC-3 - Access Enforcement
SAMA CSF PR.AC-4 - Access Rights Management
SAMA CSF DE.AE-1 - Audit and Accountability
SAMA CSF DE.CM-1 - System Monitoring
SAMA CSF RS.AN-1 - Characterization
🟡 ISO 27001:2022
ISO 27001:2022 A.5.3 - Segregation of Duties
ISO 27001:2022 A.8.1 - User Endpoint Devices
ISO 27001:2022 A.8.2 - Privileged Access Rights
ISO 27001:2022 A.8.3 - Information Access Restriction
ISO 27001:2022 A.8.4 - Access to Cryptographic Keys
ISO 27001:2022 A.12.4 - Logging
ISO 27001:2022 A.12.6 - Management of Technical Vulnerabilities
🟣 PCI DSS v4.0.1
PCI DSS 2.1 - Configuration Standards
PCI DSS 6.2 - Security Patches
PCI DSS 7.1 - Access Control Implementation
PCI DSS 8.1 - User Identification and Authentication
PCI DSS 10.2 - Implement Automated Audit Trails
🔗 References & Sources 5
🔗
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/3cbf932413e41d1836cb91aed1541a28a3122f93
disclosure@vulncheck.com
Patch
🔗
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/630f1479c44f78484dfa21bb407cbe6f171dac87
disclosure@vulncheck.com
Patch
🔗
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/ebee4e2210e1f282a982c7ef2ad79d77a572fc87
disclosure@vulncheck.com
Patch
🔗
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-vfg3-pqpq-93m4
disclosure@vulncheck.com
Vendor Advisory
🔗
https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-premature-cite-expansion-before-authoriza...
disclosure@vulncheck.com
Third Party Advisory
📦 Affected Products / CPE 1 entries
openclaw:openclaw