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OpenClaw's dashboard leaked gateway auth material via browser URL/query and localStorage

High severity GitHub Reviewed Published Mar 8, 2026 in openclaw/openclaw • Updated Mar 9, 2026

Package

npm openclaw (npm)

Affected versions

<= 2026.3.2

Patched versions

2026.3.7

Description

OpenClaw's macOS Dashboard flow exposed Gateway authentication material to browser-controlled surfaces.

Before the fix, the macOS app appended the shared Gateway token and password to the Dashboard URL query string when opening the Control UI in the browser. The Control UI then imported the token and persisted it into browser localStorage under openclaw.control.settings.v1.

This expanded exposure of reusable Gateway admin credentials into browser address-bar/query surfaces and persistent script-readable storage.

Affected Packages / Versions

  • Package: openclaw (npm)
  • Latest published version verified vulnerable: 2026.3.2
  • Affected range: <= 2026.3.2
  • Patched version: >= 2026.3.7

Impact

An attacker with access to browser-controlled surfaces or persistent browser storage could recover a valid Gateway admin token and reuse it against the OpenClaw management interface.

The exposure chain was:

  1. macOS Open Dashboard constructed a URL with auth material.
  2. The browser received that credential-bearing URL.
  3. The Control UI imported the token from the URL.
  4. The Control UI persisted the token in localStorage.

Fix

The fix aligns the macOS Dashboard flow with the safer existing CLI/bootstrap pattern and removes persistent browser token storage:

  • macOS Dashboard now passes the Gateway token via URL fragment instead of query parameters.
  • macOS Dashboard no longer propagates the shared Gateway password into browser URLs.
  • Control UI keeps Gateway tokens in memory only for the current tab.
  • Control UI scrubs legacy persisted tokens from openclaw.control.settings.v1 on load.
  • Regression tests cover fragment transport, password omission, and token-scrubbing behavior.

Fix Commit(s)

  • 10d0e3f3ca92326df0ca071fabffe463742f263c (March 7, 2026)

Release Process Note

npm 2026.3.7 was published on March 8, 2026. This advisory is fixed in the released package.

Thanks @whiter6666 for reporting.

References

@steipete steipete published to openclaw/openclaw Mar 8, 2026
Published to the GitHub Advisory Database Mar 9, 2026
Reviewed Mar 9, 2026
Last updated Mar 9, 2026

Severity

High

CVSS overall score

This score calculates overall vulnerability severity from 0 to 10 and is based on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS).
/ 10

CVSS v3 base metrics

Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS v3 base metrics

Attack vector: More severe the more the remote (logically and physically) an attacker can be in order to exploit the vulnerability.
Attack complexity: More severe for the least complex attacks.
Privileges required: More severe if no privileges are required.
User interaction: More severe when no user interaction is required.
Scope: More severe when a scope change occurs, e.g. one vulnerable component impacts resources in components beyond its security scope.
Confidentiality: More severe when loss of data confidentiality is highest, measuring the level of data access available to an unauthorized user.
Integrity: More severe when loss of data integrity is the highest, measuring the consequence of data modification possible by an unauthorized user.
Availability: More severe when the loss of impacted component availability is highest.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

EPSS score

Weaknesses

Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor

The product exposes sensitive information to an actor that is not explicitly authorized to have access to that information. Learn more on MITRE.

CVE ID

No known CVE

GHSA ID

GHSA-rchv-x836-w7xp

Source code

Credits

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