OpenClaw's dispatch-wrapper depth-cap mismatch can bypass shell-wrapper approval gating in system.run allowlist mode

Summary

A wrapper-depth parsing mismatch in system.run allowed nested transparent dispatch wrappers (for example repeated /usr/bin/env) to suppress shell-wrapper detection while still matching allowlist resolution. In security=allowlist + ask=on-miss, this could bypass the expected approval prompt for shell execution.

Severity / Trust Model

OpenClaw’s documented model treats authenticated gateway callers as trusted operators and exec approvals as operator guardrails. This issue is still a real approval-boundary bypass and is triaged as Medium in that model.

Technical Details

• Dispatch-wrapper unwrapping stopped at MAX_DISPATCH_WRAPPER_DEPTH.
• Shell-wrapper extraction could return non-wrapper once depth was exhausted.
• Allowlist resolution could still succeed on partially unwrapped argv beginning with /usr/bin/env.
• Result: nested wrapper chains could execute /bin/sh -c ... without fresh approval in allowlist + ask=on-miss.

Affected Packages / Versions

• Package: openclaw (npm)
• Latest published version at triage time: 2026.2.23
• Vulnerable versions: <= 2026.2.23
• Patched versions (planned next release): >= 2026.2.24

Fix Commit(s)

• 57c9a18180c8b14885bbd95474cbb17ff2d03f0b

Verification

• Added regression coverage for depth-overflow wrapper chains at resolution and system.run invocation layers.
• Reproduced previous PoC behavior before fix, then confirmed denial after fix with SYSTEM_RUN_DENIED: approval required.

Release Process Note

patched_versions is pre-set to the planned next release (2026.2.24) so once npm publish is complete, advisory publication can proceed without additional version edits.

OpenClaw thanks @tdjackey for reporting.

Publication Update (2026-02-25)

[email protected] is published on npm and contains the fix commit(s) listed above. This advisory now marks >= 2026.2.24 as patched.