GHSA-5h2c-8v84-qpvr OpenClaw shell-env fallback trusted startup env and could execute attacker-influenced login-shell paths

Q: Which versions are affected by GHSA-5h2c-8v84-qpvr?

2 open source packages ship an affected version, including openclaw.

Q: Is GHSA-5h2c-8v84-qpvr being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of GHSA-5h2c-8v84-qpvr in the wild and no public exploit code.

Q: How do I fix GHSA-5h2c-8v84-qpvr?

Upgrade openclaw to 2026.2.22 or later.

Not scored Published 3 Mar 2026

Attacker with local environment or config influence can execute arbitrary commands via shell-env fallback in OpenClaw.

Exploited in the wild: Not known
Login needed: Not needed
Attackable: Local or same network only
Victim action needed: Not needed
Fix: Available

What is GHSA-5h2c-8v84-qpvr?

GHSA-5h2c-8v84-qpvr is a command injection vulnerability in openclaw, published on 3 Mar 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

Summary

OpenClaw shell-env fallback trusted startup environment values and could execute attacker-influenced login-shell startup paths before loading env keys.

Affected Packages / Versions

Package: openclaw (npm)
Affected versions: >= 2026.1.5 and <= 2026.2.21-2
Fixed on main: 9363c320d8ffe29290906752fab92621da02c3f7
Planned patched release version (pre-set): 2026.2.22

Details

The vulnerable chain was in the shell-env fallback path:

src/infra/shell-env.ts

resolveShell(env) trusted env.SHELL when set.
execLoginShellEnvZero(...) executed ${SHELL} -l -c "env -0" with inherited runtime env.

src/config/io.ts

Config env values were applied before shell fallback execution.

src/config/env-vars.ts / env policy coverage

SHELL handling was hardened, but startup-path selectors (HOME, ZDOTDIR) still needed explicit blocking in config env ingestion and sanitization for shell fallback execution.

With env/config influence, this could trigger unintended command execution in shell startup processing on the OpenClaw host process context.

Fix

Mainline hardening now:

blocks SHELL, HOME, and ZDOTDIR during config env ingestion used by runtime fallback,
sanitizes shell fallback execution env, pinning HOME to the real user home and dropping ZDOTDIR + dangerous startup vars,
adds regression tests for config env ingestion and shell fallback/path-probe sanitization.

Fix Commit(s)

9363c320d8ffe29290906752fab92621da02c3f7

Impact

Local code-execution risk in environments where attacker-controlled env/config input can reach shell-env fallback.
Under OpenClaw trust assumptions (SECURITY.md), this is not a public-remote issue and depends on crossing local trusted-operator boundaries.

Release Process Note

patched_versions is intentionally pre-set to the planned next release (2026.2.22) so once npm release is out, maintainers can publish advisory immediately.

OpenClaw thanks @tdjackey for reporting.

Which versions are affected by GHSA-5h2c-8v84-qpvr?