CVE-2026-43566Network attack vector

Privilege escalation via omitted webhook wake downgrade

Published May 5, 2026 · Updated May 5, 2026

Privilege escalation in OpenClaw allows remote attackers to retain owner-like agent execution through untrusted webhook wake events. The heartbeat runner omitted hook:wake events from its owner-downgrade inspection and passed their queued untrusted content to reply execution with senderIsOwner still true. Exploitation requires an untrusted webhook event to wake a non-isolated heartbeat run, enabling owner-context data access or actions but not service interruption.

CVSS severity9.1
Critical
EPSS probability0.42%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Privilege escalation in OpenClaw allows remote attackers to retain owner-like agent execution through untrusted webhook wake events. The heartbeat runner omitted hook:wake events from its owner-downgrade inspection and passed their queued untrusted content to reply execution with senderIsOwner still true. Exploitation requires an untrusted webhook event to wake a non-isolated heartbeat run, enabling owner-context data access or actions but not service interruption.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-43566
Published
May 5, 2026
Updated
May 5, 2026
Vendor
OpenClaw Foundation
Product
OpenClaw
Classifications
CWE-184, T1068
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 5, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 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?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=2026.4.7 <2026.4.14

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

OpenClaw Foundation · OpenClawversion=2026.4.7 <2026.4.14

Published CVSS scores

9.1VulnCheckCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
9.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
9.1VulnCheckCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-184Incomplete List of Disallowed Inputs
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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