Unauthorized bot access via mutable username matching
Published Mar 5, 2026 · Updated Mar 5, 2026
Authorization bypass in Telegram allowlists in OpenClaw before 2026.2.14 allows remote attackers to interact with bots as trusted senders. The isSenderAllowed function compared Telegram's mutable senderUsername value with allowFrom entries after numeric sender-ID matching failed. Exposure requires allowlist mode with a username entry and an attacker-controlled Telegram account that acquires that username, enabling unauthorized bot commands and replies.
Summary
What happened
Authorization bypass in Telegram allowlists in OpenClaw before 2026.2.14 allows remote attackers to interact with bots as trusted senders. The isSenderAllowed function compared Telegram's mutable senderUsername value with allowFrom entries after numeric sender-ID matching failed. Exposure requires allowlist mode with a username entry and an attacker-controlled Telegram account that acquires that username, enabling unauthorized bot commands and replies.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-28480
- Published
- Mar 5, 2026
- Updated
- Mar 5, 2026
- Vendor
- OpenClaw Foundation
- Product
- OpenClaw
- Classifications
- CWE-284, CWE-290, T1078
- 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 <2026.2.14
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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