Hook token disclosure via timing side channel
Published Mar 5, 2026 · Updated Mar 5, 2026
Observable timing discrepancy in OpenClaw before 2026.2.13 allows remote attackers to infer a hook token through repeated requests. The hooks request handler in src/gateway/server-http.ts compares the supplied token to hooksConfig.token with ordinary string inequality, whose data-dependent execution time leaks comparison information. The endpoint must be exposed to an untrusted network, and token recovery requires many unauthenticated requests despite latency and jitter; a recovered token permits authenticated hook requests.
Summary
What happened
Observable timing discrepancy in OpenClaw before 2026.2.13 allows remote attackers to infer a hook token through repeated requests. The hooks request handler in src/gateway/server-http.ts compares the supplied token to hooksConfig.token with ordinary string inequality, whose data-dependent execution time leaks comparison information. The endpoint must be exposed to an untrusted network, and token recovery requires many unauthenticated requests despite latency and jitter; a recovered token permits authenticated hook requests.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-28475
- Published
- Mar 5, 2026
- Updated
- Mar 5, 2026
- Vendor
- OpenClaw Foundation
- Product
- OpenClaw
- Classifications
- CWE-208, T1190
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Mar 5, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Mar 5, 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?
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- Affected versionversion=0 <2026.2.13
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
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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