OpenClaw "Claw Chain" Vulnerability Chain Exposed: Credential and Permission Security at Risk

Security researchers have disclosed a chain of vulnerabilities affecting the OpenClaw open-source AI agent framework, collectively referred to as "Claw Chain." These four vulnerabilities can be chained by attackers to execute a complete attack chain—from initial compromise and credential theft to privilege escalation and persistent backdoor implantation. The OpenClaw maintenance team has received a report from data security firm Cyera and has completed patches for all the vulnerabilities.

The four vulnerabilities discovered this time are identified as CVE-2026-44112, CVE-2026-44115, CVE-2026-44118, and CVE-2026-44113. Among them, CVE-2026-44118 (CVSS 7.8) is a privilege escalation vulnerability caused by improper session validation. CVE-2026-44113 (CVSS 7.8) is a TOCTOU (Time-of-Check Time-of-Use) vulnerability that allows attackers to gain unauthorized access to sensitive data such as system configuration files, API keys, and credentials. The other two vulnerabilities involve environment variable leakage and code execution risks. When combined, they can break through the security boundary of AI agents, threatening connected internal systems, cloud environments, and SaaS applications.

As one of the fastest-growing AI agent tools, OpenClaw has been widely adopted by developers for deploying autonomous AI assistants. The "Claw Chain" vulnerability incident serves as a critical reminder: as enterprises rapidly integrate AI agents into sensitive business environments, they must simultaneously establish strict security reviews and access control mechanisms. Otherwise, they risk severe consequences such as data breaches and permission loss. Security experts recommend that users immediately upgrade to the latest patched version and assess their own deployments for similar attack surfaces.