OpenClaw's Node system.run approval hardening wrapper semantic drift can execute unintended local scripts

Summary

In openclaw@2026.3.1, node system.run approval-path hardening rewrote wrapper command argv in a way that changed execution semantics. A command shown/approved as a shell payload (for example echo SAFE) could execute a different local script when wrapper argv were rewritten.

Affected Packages / Versions

• Package: openclaw (npm)
• Affected: 2026.3.1 (latest published npm version as of March 2, 2026)
• Fixed release: 2026.3.2 (released)

Technical Details

Root cause was in node-host approval hardening for system.run:

• src/node-host/invoke-system-run-plan.ts rewrote argv[0] to the resolved executable.
• Wrapper resolution unwrapped dispatch wrappers, so input like ['env','sh','-c','echo SAFE'] resolved executable sh.
• The approved plan could become ['/bin/sh','sh','-c','echo SAFE'] while approval text remained echo SAFE.

That rewrite changed runtime behavior: /bin/sh interprets the extra sh positional argument as a script path, enabling execution of a local ./sh file from approved cwd instead of the approved payload text.

Impact

Approval-integrity break in host=node execution flow: operator-visible command text and executed behavior could diverge.

Exploit preconditions:

• attacker can influence wrapper argv and place a local file in approved working directory,
• operator grants approval for the displayed command.

Fix Commit(s)

• dded569626b0d8e7bdab10b5e7528b6caf73a0f1

Fixed Version

• Patched in openclaw@2026.3.2.