OpenClaw versions earlier than 2026.2.14 contain a flaw in the gateway that fails to sanitize internal approval fields in node.invoke parameters. The bug permits authenticated clients to inject approval control fields, bypassing the exec approval gate for system.run commands. This vulnerability can be exploited to run arbitrary commands on node hosts, compromising both developer workstations and continuous integration runners. The weakness is a failure to enforce authorization checks, classified as CWE‑863.

Affected systems are the OpenClaw gateway component of the OpenClaw product. All releases prior to 2026.2.14 are vulnerable. The gateway is built on Node.js and interacts with connected node hosts via node.invoke calls. The product documentation does not list a separate version for the Node.js environment, so the vulnerability exists in all affected releases regardless of minor Node.js updates.

The vulnerability has a CVSS score of 9.4, indicating critical severity. The EPSS score is less than 1 %, suggesting a low exploitation probability at present, but the lack of KEV listing does not diminish the risk to exposed systems. Exploitation requires valid gateway credentials and the ability to construct node.invoke requests with crafted approval fields. Once authenticated, an attacker can override the approval check and execute arbitrary code on any connected node host.