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high advisory

OpenClaw Gateway Bearer Auth Bypass After Secret Rotation

OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.4.15 have a vulnerability where gateway HTTP and WebSocket handlers cache bearer-auth configuration at server startup, allowing a revoked token to remain valid after SecretRef rotation until restart, potentially granting unauthorized access.

OpenClaw versions before 2026.4.15 are vulnerable to a bearer authentication bypass. The gateway HTTP and WebSocket handlers incorrectly capture the resolved bearer-auth configuration only once, during server startup. Consequently, if a SecretRef rotation occurs, the running gateway continues to accept the old, now-revoked, bearer token. This vulnerability persists until the OpenClaw server is restarted, effectively negating the intended token revocation. This issue poses a significant risk, as it allows potentially unauthorized access even after administrators have taken steps to rotate and invalidate the token. The vulnerability was reported by @zsxsoft, Keen Security Lab, and @qclawer and patched in version 2026.4.15.

Attack Chain

  1. An attacker obtains a valid bearer token for OpenClaw gateway access.
  2. The OpenClaw gateway server starts and caches the resolved bearer-auth configuration.
  3. The administrator initiates a SecretRef rotation, intending to revoke the existing bearer token.
  4. Due to the vulnerability, the already-running OpenClaw gateway does not re-resolve the bearer-auth configuration against the new secret.
  5. The attacker uses the old, now-revoked, bearer token in subsequent HTTP or WebSocket requests.
  6. The OpenClaw gateway incorrectly validates the request using the cached, outdated authentication configuration.
  7. The attacker gains unauthorized access to the gateway resources.
  8. The attacker maintains unauthorized access until the OpenClaw gateway server is restarted.

Impact

Successful exploitation of this vulnerability allows attackers to bypass intended security controls. Specifically, an attacker with a revoked bearer token can maintain access to OpenClaw gateway resources, even after a SecretRef rotation. The vulnerability affects all OpenClaw deployments running versions prior to 2026.4.15. The impact is significant, as it undermines the security posture of OpenClaw deployments and could lead to data breaches, service disruption, or other malicious activities.

Recommendation

  • Upgrade OpenClaw to version 2026.4.15 or later to patch the vulnerability as described in the advisory (https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-xmxx-7p24-h892).
  • Restart OpenClaw gateway servers immediately after a SecretRef rotation to ensure that the new authentication configuration is loaded, mitigating the risk if an immediate upgrade is not feasible.
  • Monitor OpenClaw gateway logs for unauthorized access attempts, although this might be difficult to distinguish from legitimate requests using the outdated token.

Detection coverage 2

Detect OpenClaw Authentication Bypass Attempt (Example)

low

This rule detects potential attempts to use a revoked bearer token after a SecretRef rotation in OpenClaw. This is an example rule, as differentiating between legitimate and malicious use of the old token may be challenging.

sigma tactics: persistence techniques: T1547.001 sources: webserver, linux

Detect OpenClaw Server Restart

info

This rule detects OpenClaw server restarts which can be used to check for restarts after secret rotation.

sigma tactics: defense_evasion sources: process_creation, linux

Detection queries are available on the platform. Get full rules →