Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
OpenClaw before version 2026.3.11 has a flaw in how it handles missing local login secrets. When the expected local credential references cannot be found, the software treats them as unset and falls back to remote credentials. A local user with some access could exploit this misconfiguration to have tools pick the wrong credential source, weakening the boundary between local and remote authentication.
Executive priority
Low priority. This is a local, low-severity authentication logic issue with no known exploitation. Schedule the upgrade to 2026.3.11 during normal patch cycles and validate local auth configurations, but no emergency response is warranted based on current public evidence.
Technical view
Per the advisory, OpenClaw's gateway.auth.token and gateway.auth.password SecretRefs, when unavailable in local mode, are interpreted as unset rather than as errors. CLI and helper code paths then fall back to remote credential resolution, allowing selection of an unintended credential source. CWE-636 (Not Failing Securely) applies. CVSS 3.1 base 2.5 (AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N) indicates a local, high-complexity, low-impact confidentiality issue.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to environments running OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.3.11 where local auth SecretRefs may be unavailable or misconfigured. The attack requires local access and existing low privileges, narrowing exposure to insiders or already-compromised local principals rather than internet-facing threats.
Exploitation context
No public evidence of active exploitation. CISA KEV does not list this CVE. The CVSS vector reflects local attack vector, high complexity, and low confidentiality impact only. Sources describe the weakness as a fallback logic bypass tied to misconfigured references, not a remotely weaponizable flaw, and no proof-of-concept is cited.
Researcher notes
CWE-636 (Not Failing Securely) is the core weakness: unavailable SecretRefs are silently coerced to unset rather than treated as configuration errors, causing CLI and helper paths to select remote credentials in local mode. Validate by reviewing credential resolution logic for gateway.auth.token and gateway.auth.password references and confirm that missing SecretRefs now fail closed. Cross-reference the GHSA and VulnCheck advisories for scope of affected code paths.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade OpenClaw to 2026.3.11 or later per vendor advisory.
- Audit gateway.auth.token and gateway.auth.password SecretRef configurations for local mode.
- Restrict local access to hosts running OpenClaw to trusted operators.
- Review vendor guidance in GHSA-qvr7-g57c-mrc7 for configuration hardening.
- Monitor CLI and helper invocations for unexpected credential source selection.
Validation and detection
- Inventory OpenClaw deployments and confirm running versions against 2026.3.11.
- Verify presence and availability of configured local auth SecretRefs.
- Test local mode behavior when SecretRefs are absent to confirm secure failure.
- Review logs for unexpected fallback to remote credentials during local operations.
- Confirm patched build after upgrade using vendor release notes.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-636: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCredential and access behavior lookup
The CVE wording references authentication or credential exposure, so valid-account and credential-access review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2026-32970 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Low
- CVSS
- 2.5 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
SSVC decision data
CVSS vector scores
2 official scoresWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N11.4VulnCheckCVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:H/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N——VulnCheckVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 4.0 score
2LowVector: CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:H/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Base CVSS 3.1 score
2.5LowVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- GitHub Security Advisory (GHSA-qvr7-g57c-mrc7)CVE reference, VulnCheck · vendor-advisory
- VulnCheck Advisory: OpenClaw < 2026.3.11 - Credential Fallback Logic Bypass via Unavailable Local Auth SecretRefsCVE reference, VulnCheck · third-party-advisory
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Not Failing Securely ('Failing Open')
Not Failing Securely ('Failing Open') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.