Privilege escalation via missed exec completion classification
Published May 6, 2026 · Updated May 6, 2026
Privilege escalation in OpenClaw before 2026.4.10 allows remote attackers to keep agent runs in a privileged owner context. The isExecCompletionEvent function in src/infra/heartbeat-events-filter.ts recognizes only exec-finished text, so local background events formatted as Exec completed or Exec failed bypass heartbeat owner-downgrade detection. Untrusted completion content must reach an affected run; the missed classification preserves access to data and actions available to the higher-privilege context.
Summary
What happened
Privilege escalation in OpenClaw before 2026.4.10 allows remote attackers to keep agent runs in a privileged owner context. The isExecCompletionEvent function in src/infra/heartbeat-events-filter.ts recognizes only exec-finished text, so local background events formatted as Exec completed or Exec failed bypass heartbeat owner-downgrade detection. Untrusted completion content must reach an affected run; the missed classification preserves access to data and actions available to the higher-privilege context.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-43578
- Published
- May 6, 2026
- Updated
- May 6, 2026
- Vendor
- OpenClaw Foundation
- Product
- OpenClaw
- Classifications
- CWE-184, T1068
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 6, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 6, 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=2026.3.31 <2026.4.10
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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