8.8
HIGH CVSS 3.1
CVE-2026-35638
OpenClaw < 2026.3.22 - Privilege Escalation via Self-Declared Scopes in Trusted-Proxy Control UI
Description

OpenClaw before 2026.3.22 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability in the Control UI that allows unauthenticated sessions to retain self-declared privileged scopes without device identity verification. Attackers can exploit the device-less allow path in the trusted-proxy mechanism to maintain elevated permissions by declaring arbitrary scopes, bypassing device identity requirements.

INFO

Published Date :

April 9, 2026, 10:16 p.m.

Last Modified :

April 9, 2026, 10:16 p.m.

Remotely Exploit :

Yes !
Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2026-35638 vulnerability. Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the products that are affected, the information is not represented in the table below.

No affected product recoded yet

CVSS Scores
The Common Vulnerability Scoring System is a standardized framework for assessing the severity of vulnerabilities in software and systems. We collect and displays CVSS scores from various sources for each CVE.
Score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Score Impact Score Source
CVSS 3.1 HIGH 83251b91-4cc7-4094-a5c7-464a1b83ea10
CVSS 3.1 HIGH [email protected]
CVSS 3.1 HIGH MITRE-CVE
CVSS 4.0 HIGH 83251b91-4cc7-4094-a5c7-464a1b83ea10
CVSS 4.0 HIGH [email protected]
Solution
Update OpenClaw to version 2026.3.22 or later to fix privilege escalation.
  • Update OpenClaw to version 2026.3.22 or later.
  • Verify device identity checks are enforced.
  • Remove any device-less allow paths.
  • Review trusted-proxy configurations.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-35638 is associated with the following CWEs:

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC) stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-35638 weaknesses.

We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).

Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.

The following list is the news that have been mention CVE-2026-35638 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2026-35638 vulnerability over time.

Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.

  • New CVE Received by [email protected]

    Apr. 09, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Description OpenClaw before 2026.3.22 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability in the Control UI that allows unauthenticated sessions to retain self-declared privileged scopes without device identity verification. Attackers can exploit the device-less allow path in the trusted-proxy mechanism to maintain elevated permissions by declaring arbitrary scopes, bypassing device identity requirements.
    Added CVSS V4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
    Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
    Added CWE CWE-286
    Added Reference https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/630f1479c44f78484dfa21bb407cbe6f171dac87
    Added Reference https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/ccf16cd8892402022439346ae1d23352e3707e9e
    Added Reference https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-48vw-m3qc-wr99
    Added Reference https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-privilege-escalation-via-self-declared-scopes-in-trusted-proxy-control-ui
EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days. Following chart shows the EPSS score history of the vulnerability.