Authentication bypass via overbroad Tailscale header trust
Published Mar 21, 2026 · Updated Mar 21, 2026
Authentication bypass in OpenClaw before 2026.2.21 allows remote attackers on trusted networks to access HTTP gateway routes. The gateway authorization path accepts verified Tailscale Serve identity headers at generic HTTP authentication call sites instead of limiting tokenless header authentication to Control UI WebSocket connections. The flaw is reachable only when Tailscale Serve header authentication is enabled and downgrades routes configured to require a token or password to tokenless access.
Summary
What happened
Authentication bypass in OpenClaw before 2026.2.21 allows remote attackers on trusted networks to access HTTP gateway routes. The gateway authorization path accepts verified Tailscale Serve identity headers at generic HTTP authentication call sites instead of limiting tokenless header authentication to Control UI WebSocket connections. The flaw is reachable only when Tailscale Serve header authentication is enabled and downgrades routes configured to require a token or password to tokenless access.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-32045
- Published
- Mar 21, 2026
- Updated
- Mar 21, 2026
- Vendor
- OpenClaw Foundation
- Product
- OpenClaw
- Classifications
- CWE-290, T1190
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
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?
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- 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
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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