Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
OpenClaw versions before 2026.3.13 can let a bootstrap setup code be reused during device pairing. A valid code could be verified more than once before approval, allowing a pending pairing request to gain broader permissions, including operator.admin. This is critical because it affects initial trust establishment for devices.
Executive priority
Treat this as urgent for any OpenClaw environment using device pairing. Prioritize upgrade and review of pending pairings because the issue targets a trust-onboarding path and can grant administrative operator privileges without prior authentication.
Technical view
The issue is a CWE-294 authentication bypass by capture-replay in src/infra/device-bootstrap.ts. During pairing verification, bootstrap setup codes were replayable before approval, enabling escalation of pending pairing scopes. The bundled CVSS v3.1 score is 9.8 with network attack vector, no privileges, and no user interaction.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to OpenClaw deployments running versions before 2026.3.13 that use device bootstrap pairing. Systems not using OpenClaw or already on 2026.3.13 or later are not indicated as affected in the supplied sources.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not state active exploitation, and KEV is false. The risk is still high because the flaw is network-accessible, low-complexity, unauthenticated, and can lead to operator.admin scope escalation during device pairing.
Researcher notes
Evidence identifies replayable bootstrap setup codes in device pairing verification, with privilege escalation to operator.admin. Public sources in the bundle identify the vulnerable component and fixed release, but do not provide evidence of in-the-wild exploitation or additional mitigations beyond vendor guidance and patching.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade OpenClaw to 2026.3.13 or later.
- Review the GitHub advisory and patch commit for vendor-specific remediation details.
- Rotate or invalidate outstanding bootstrap setup codes after upgrading.
- Review pending device pairings and remove unexpected operator.admin scopes.
- Monitor vendor guidance for any additional hardening instructions.
Validation and detection
- Inventory OpenClaw deployments and confirm versions are at least 2026.3.13.
- Identify whether device bootstrap pairing is enabled in each deployment.
- Review pairing logs for repeated verification of the same bootstrap code.
- Check pending pairings for unexpected scope escalation before approval.
- Confirm the patched code prevents bootstrap code replay during verification.
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-294: 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 lookupPrivilege behavior lookup
The CVE wording references privilege impact, so privilege escalation and authorization behavior review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2026-32987 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
- Critical
- CVSS
- 9.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H3.95.9VulnCheckCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N——VulnCheckVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 4.0 score
9.3CriticalVector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Base CVSS 3.1 score
9.8CriticalVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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-63f5-hhc7-cx6p)CVE reference, VulnCheck · vendor-advisory
- Patch CommitCVE reference, VulnCheck · patch
- VulnCheck Advisory: OpenClaw < 2026.3.13 - Bootstrap Setup Code Replay via Device PairingCVE 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.
Authentication Bypass by Capture-replay
Authentication Bypass by Capture-replay represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.