CVE-2026-32051
Received Received - Intake
Authorization Bypass in OpenClaw Agent Enables Privilege Escalation

Publication date: 2026-03-21

Last updated on: 2026-03-23

Assigner: VulnCheck

Description
OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.3.1 contain an authorization mismatch vulnerability that allows authenticated callers with operator.write scope to invoke owner-only tool surfaces including gateway and cron through agent runs in scoped-token deployments. Attackers with write-scope access can perform control-plane actions beyond their intended authorization level by exploiting inconsistent owner-only gating during agent execution.
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Meta Information
Published
2026-03-21
Last Modified
2026-03-23
Generated
2026-06-16
AI Q&A
2026-03-21
EPSS Evaluated
2026-06-15
NVD
CVE-2026-32051
EUVD
EUVD-2026-13949
Affected Vendors & Products
Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
openclaw openclaw to 2026.3.1 (exc)
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-863 The product performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action, but it does not correctly perform the check.
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Executive Summary

CVE-2026-32051 is an authorization mismatch vulnerability in OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.3.1. It allows authenticated users who have operator.write scope to access and invoke owner-only tool functionalities, such as gateway and cron operations, through agent runs in scoped-token deployments.

The root cause is inconsistent enforcement of owner-only access restrictions during agent execution, which leads to a privilege escalation where users with write-scope access can perform control-plane actions beyond their intended authorization level.

This flaw is classified as a high-severity authorization bypass vulnerability and was fixed in OpenClaw version 2026.3.1 by enforcing strict owner-only gating and tightening tool scope classification.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can allow attackers with operator.write privileges to escalate their permissions and perform unauthorized control-plane actions, such as invoking owner-only tools like gateway and cron.

Such unauthorized actions can compromise the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the system, potentially leading to significant security breaches.

Because the vulnerability can be exploited remotely over the network with low attack complexity and no user interaction, it poses a high risk to affected systems.

Compliance Impact

I don't know

Detection Guidance

I don't know

Mitigation Strategies

To mitigate CVE-2026-32051, you should upgrade OpenClaw to version 2026.3.1 or later, where the authorization mismatch vulnerability has been fixed.

This update enforces consistent owner-only gating for sensitive tool surfaces such as gateway and cron during agent execution, eliminating the privilege escalation risk.

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