OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.2.22 contain an allowlist bypass flaw in the safe-bin configuration. When the sort utility is manually added to tools.exec.safeBins, an attacker can use the --compress-program flag to execute arbitrary external programs without operator approval. This vulnerability is categorized as CWE-78, indicating a command injection issue that can lead to arbitrary code execution within the context of the running application.

The affected product is OpenClaw from the vendor OpenClaw. All installations running OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.2.22 are susceptible, as the vulnerability is tied specifically to versions before the 2026.2.22 release.

The CVSS score for this issue is 5.8, representing moderate severity. No EPSS score is available, and the vulnerability is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog. Exploitation requires that an attacker can invoke the sort utility within the application’s environment; no additional privilege escalation or external network exposure is required beyond that capability. The likely attack vector is an attacker who controls job or configuration inputs to the OpenClaw system, using sort’s --compress-program option to run malicious commands.