CVE-2026-33579
OpenClaw: /pair approve command path omitted caller scope subsetting and reopened device pairing escalation
Severity by source
Trivy's own label is CRITICAL. Rated critical by GHSA.
Description
OpenClaw before 2026.3.28 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability in the /pair approve command path that fails to forward caller scopes into the core approval check. A caller with pairing privileges but without admin privileges can approve pending device requests asking for broader scopes including admin access by exploiting the missing scope validation in extensions/device-pair/index.ts and src/infra/device-pairing.ts.
Affected packages and fixed versions
| Source | Package | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| npm::GitHub Security Advisory npm | openclaw | 2026.3.28 |
| minimos | openclaw | 2026.4.2-r0 |
References
- https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw
- https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/4ee4960de2330b5322127f925f3687dc6f105be1
- https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/e403decb6e20091b5402780a7ccd2085f98aa3cd
- https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-hc5h-pmr3-3497
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-33579
- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-privilege-escalation-via-missing-caller-scope-validation-in-device-pair-approval