CVE-2026-42420
Received Received - Intake
Memory Exhaustion via Improper Base64 Validation in OpenClaw

Publication date: 2026-04-28

Last updated on: 2026-04-30

Assigner: VulnCheck

Description
OpenClaw before 2026.4.8 contains improper input validation in base64 decode paths that allocate memory before enforcing decoded-size limits. Attackers can exploit multiple code paths to cause memory exhaustion or denial of service through crafted base64-encoded input.
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Meta Information
Published
2026-04-28
Last Modified
2026-04-30
Generated
2026-06-16
AI Q&A
2026-04-28
EPSS Evaluated
2026-06-15
NVD
CVE-2026-42420
EUVD
EUVD-2026-26123
Affected Vendors & Products
Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
openclaw openclaw to 2026.4.8 (exc)
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-770 The product allocates a reusable resource or group of resources on behalf of an actor without imposing any intended restrictions on the size or number of resources that can be allocated.
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Mitigation Strategies

To mitigate this vulnerability, you should upgrade OpenClaw to version 2026.4.8 or later, where the issue has been fixed.

The fix addresses improper input validation in the base64 decoding paths by enforcing decoded-size limits before memory allocation, preventing memory exhaustion or denial of service.

Compliance Impact

The provided information does not specify any direct impact of CVE-2026-42420 on compliance with common standards and regulations such as GDPR or HIPAA.

Impact Analysis

The vulnerability can impact you by allowing attackers to cause memory exhaustion or denial of service in the OpenClaw application.

This means that an attacker could submit crafted Base64-encoded input that forces the application to allocate excessive memory, potentially crashing the application or making it unavailable.

Such denial of service could disrupt normal operations and affect the availability of the service relying on OpenClaw.

Executive Summary

CVE-2026-42420 is a vulnerability in OpenClaw versions before 2026.4.8 that involves improper input validation during Base64 decoding. The software allocates memory based on Base64-encoded input before checking if the decoded size is within acceptable limits.

This flaw allows attackers to exploit multiple code paths by submitting specially crafted Base64-encoded data, which can cause the program to allocate excessive memory.

As a result, this can lead to memory exhaustion or denial of service (DoS) conditions.

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