CVE-2026-35674
OpenClaw: Scoped chat.send route inheritance could bypass admin command scope gates
Description
### Summary Some internal command handlers require `operator.approvals` or `operator.admin` scopes. In affected releases, a scoped Gateway `chat.send` request delivered through an inherited external route could be evaluated as an external-channel command while still carrying the lower Gateway client scopes. This issue affects scoped Gateway clients. It does not apply to shared-secret bearer HTTP compatibility endpoints, which are documented as full operator surfaces under OpenClaw's trust model. ### Affected configurations This affects deployments where a scoped Gateway caller with `operator.write` can use `chat.send` with delivery into a session that has an inherited external delivery route. ### Impact Commands that should have required `operator.approvals` or `operator.admin` could run with only `operator.write` in this routed context. Affected command families included approval resolution and selected administrative commands such as plugin, config, MCP, allowlist, and ACP mutations. ### Patched Versions The first stable patched version is `2026.5.18`. ### Mitigations Upgrade to `openclaw@2026.5.18` or later. Before upgrading, avoid granting `operator.write` tokens to clients that can deliver commands into sessions with external routes unless those clients are trusted with admin-like command effects.
How to fix CVE-2026-35674
To remediate CVE-2026-35674, upgrade the affected package to a fixed version below.
- —upgrade to 2026.5.18 or later
Is CVE-2026-35674 being exploited?
Low — EPSS is 0.3%, meaning exploitation activity has not been observed at scale.
Affected packages (1)
- from 0, < 2026.5.18