Authenticated privilege escalation via skipped device pairing
Published Mar 21, 2026 · Updated Mar 21, 2026
Privilege escalation in OpenClaw 2026.2.22 through 2026.2.24 allows remote authenticated users to obtain operator.admin scope. The Gateway WebSocket message handler treated valid shared token or password authentication as sufficient to skip pairing for a remote operator device identity. Valid shared gateway credentials and a self-signed unpaired device identity are required; successful requests grant administrative operator privileges.
Summary
What happened
Privilege escalation in OpenClaw 2026.2.22 through 2026.2.24 allows remote authenticated users to obtain operator.admin scope. The Gateway WebSocket message handler treated valid shared token or password authentication as sufficient to skip pairing for a remote operator device identity. Valid shared gateway credentials and a self-signed unpaired device identity are required; successful requests grant administrative operator privileges.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-32042
- Published
- Mar 21, 2026
- Updated
- Mar 21, 2026
- Vendor
- OpenClaw Foundation
- Product
- OpenClaw
- Classifications
- CWE-863, T1098
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Mar 21, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Mar 21, 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=2026.2.22 <2026.2.25
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.
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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