What’s Vulnerable › Vulnerabilities

CVE-2026-53858: OpenClaw < 2026.5.2 - Arbitrary Runtime Dependency Loading via STATE_DIRECTORY Environment Variable

• Severity: high (CVSS 7.1 v3.1)
• Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
• EPSS: 0.1% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
• Public exploit or detection template: none known
• Published: 2026-06-16 · updated 2026-06-18
• Weakness: CWE-426

Description

OpenClaw before 2026.5.2 contains an environment variable injection vulnerability where workspace .env STATE_DIRECTORY could influence bundled runtime dependency roots. Attackers can manipulate the STATE_DIRECTORY variable to load runtime dependencies from unintended local paths, potentially executing malicious code during dependency resolution.

Affected products

• OpenClaw: before 2026.5.2 — fixed in 2026.5.2

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: OpenClaw 2026.5.2. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

• https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-wc84-j36w-pw4x
• https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-arbitrary-runtime-dependency-loading-via-state-directory-environment-variable

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