Authenticated command execution via trailing argument smuggling
Published Mar 18, 2026 · Updated Mar 18, 2026
Argument injection in OpenClaw before 2026.2.21 allows remote authenticated users to execute commands on trusted Windows nodes. The system.run approvals path compares a benign rawCommand value with the approval record while cmd.exe /c executes additional elements from the command array. Exploitation requires an authenticated operator using approvals and a trusted Windows node, and commands run as the node process account while audit text can omit the trailing arguments.
Summary
What happened
Argument injection in OpenClaw before 2026.2.21 allows remote authenticated users to execute commands on trusted Windows nodes. The system.run approvals path compares a benign rawCommand value with the approval record while cmd.exe /c executes additional elements from the command array. Exploitation requires an authenticated operator using approvals and a trusted Windows node, and commands run as the node process account while audit text can omit the trailing arguments.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-22168
- Published
- Mar 18, 2026
- Updated
- Mar 18, 2026
- Vendor
- OpenClaw Foundation
- Product
- OpenClaw
- Classifications
- CWE-863, CWE-88, T1059.003
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Mar 18, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Mar 18, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=0 <2026.2.21
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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