CVE-2026-43573 in OpenClaw
Summary
by MITRE • 05/05/2026
OpenClaw before 2026.4.10 contains a server-side request forgery policy bypass vulnerability in existing-session browser interaction routes. Attackers can bypass SSRF navigation guards to interact with or navigate to unauthorized targets without policy enforcement.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/09/2026
The OpenClaw software version 2026.4.10 and earlier contains a critical server-side request forgery vulnerability that fundamentally undermines the application's security controls. This vulnerability exists within the existing-session browser interaction routes, specifically targeting the policy enforcement mechanisms that should prevent unauthorized external communications. The flaw represents a significant bypass of the application's intended security architecture, allowing malicious actors to circumvent established navigation guards that were designed to restrict access to internal network resources or unauthorized external targets. This type of vulnerability directly aligns with CWE-918 which defines server-side request forgery as a condition where an application fails to properly validate or restrict external resource requests, enabling attackers to manipulate the application into making unintended requests to internal systems or external malicious endpoints.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and policy enforcement within the session management and browser interaction components of OpenClaw. When users interact with existing session routes, the application should validate that all external requests originate from authorized domains or IP addresses, but this validation process has been bypassed. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting specific requests that appear to originate from legitimate session contexts while actually directing the application to communicate with unauthorized targets. This bypass occurs at the policy enforcement layer, where the application fails to properly inspect or filter the destination addresses of requests that are supposed to be restricted based on predefined security policies. The vulnerability essentially creates a tunnel through which external requests can traverse without proper authorization checks, effectively rendering the application's navigation guards ineffective.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access to potentially enable more sophisticated attack vectors within the target environment. An attacker who successfully exploits this SSRF bypass could potentially access internal services that are normally isolated from external networks, including databases, administrative interfaces, or other sensitive systems that reside within the same network segment. This could lead to data exfiltration, lateral movement within the network, or privilege escalation attacks that leverage information obtained from internal services. The vulnerability particularly impacts organizations that rely on OpenClaw for managing session-based interactions, as it creates a persistent security gap that remains active as long as the vulnerable version is deployed. The bypassed security controls are designed to prevent exactly these types of unauthorized communications, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous in environments where network segmentation is critical for maintaining security boundaries.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigations that include updating to OpenClaw version 2026.4.10 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address the SSRF policy bypass vulnerability. Additionally, network-level controls should be implemented to restrict outbound communications from the OpenClaw application to prevent unauthorized external access even if the application-level vulnerability is not fully patched. Security teams should also conduct comprehensive network monitoring to detect any suspicious outbound requests that might indicate exploitation attempts. The mitigation strategy should include implementing proper input validation for all session-based interaction routes, ensuring that all external requests are properly authenticated and authorized before being processed. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls that can detect and block suspicious SSRF patterns, as well as conducting regular security assessments to identify any other potential bypasses in the application's security architecture. This vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date security controls and the potential consequences of failing to address known vulnerabilities in widely-used applications. The attack surface created by this flaw aligns with ATT&CK technique T1190 which involves using server-side request forgery to access internal systems, making it particularly relevant for organizations that need to defend against advanced persistent threats.