Privilege Escalation in OpenClaw device.pair.approve Enables RCE

Publication date: 2026-04-09

Last updated on: 2026-04-15

Assigner: VulnCheck

Description

OpenClaw before 2026.3.22 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability in the device.pair.approve method that allows an operator.pairing approver to approve pending device requests with broader operator scopes than the approver actually holds. Attackers can exploit insufficient scope validation to escalate privileges to operator.admin and achieve remote code execution on the Node infrastructure.

CVSS Scores

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Meta Information

Published

2026-04-09

Last Modified

2026-04-15

Generated

2026-07-06

AI Q&A

2026-04-10

EPSS Evaluated

2026-07-05

NVD

CVE-2026-35639

EUVD

EUVD-2026-21134

Affected Vendors & Products

Vendor	Product	Version / Range
openclaw	openclaw	to 2026.3.22 (exc)

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE

KEV

CWE ID	Description
CWE-648	The product does not conform to the API requirements for a function call that requires extra privileges. This could allow attackers to gain privileges by causing the function to be called incorrectly.

Attack-Flow Graph

Executive Summary

This vulnerability exists in OpenClaw versions before 2026.3.22 and involves a flaw in the device.pair.approve method. It allows an operator with pairing approval rights to approve device requests with broader permissions than they actually have. This insufficient validation of operator scope can be exploited by attackers to escalate their privileges to operator.admin level and potentially execute remote code on the Node infrastructure.

Impact Analysis

The impact of this vulnerability includes unauthorized privilege escalation, where an attacker can gain higher-level operator.admin rights than intended. This can lead to remote code execution on the Node infrastructure, potentially compromising the entire system, allowing attackers to control or disrupt operations.

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