What happened
OpenClaw (npm package 'openclaw') before 2026.7.1 incorrectly trusts requester provenance in message.action. In identity-bearing Gateway deployments (authentication modes that honor caller identity and narrower operator scopes), a write-scoped caller can supply another sender's identifier to the channel authorization checks and invoke a channel action under that spoofed requester identity, reaching operations the channel adapter would have denied to the real caller. Practical impact depends on the enabled channel, the action, and the target account's permissions. Shared-secret token and password callers are full trusted operators under OpenClaw's security model and are out of scope. The issue is fixed in 2026.7.1; as a workaround, restrict message.action to administrators and disable sensitive channel actions that rely on requester identity.
Affected versions
OpenClaw: before 2026.7.1 (semver) Fixed: See vendor advisory.
Why it matters
Review the vendor advisory and exposure of the affected product to determine operational impact.
Detection & mitigation
- Apply vendor-provided updates or mitigations.
- Review affected product exposure and access logs.
Public PoC references
No public PoC reference has passed the current publication threshold.