OpenClaw's Zalo group sender allowlist bypass permits unauthorized GROUP dispatch

A missing group-sender authorization check in the Zalo plugin allowed unauthorized GROUP messages to enter agent dispatch paths in configurations intended to restrict group traffic.

Impact

When Zalo group handling was configured with allowlist-style controls, a sender not present in the intended group allowlist could still trigger agent processing through the GROUP message path.

Root Cause

Group access checks were not consistently enforced before dispatch for Zalo GROUP messages. The fix adds explicit runtime group-policy evaluation (groupPolicy, groupAllowFrom, fallback to allowFrom) and fail-closed behavior for missing provider config.

Affected Packages / Versions

• Package: openclaw (npm)
• Latest published vulnerable version: 2026.2.23 (as of 2026-02-24)
• Affected range: <= 2026.2.23
• Planned patched version: 2026.2.24

Fix Commit(s)

• b4010a0b627025c809c0e5dbdbd4770f3bc59ef8

OpenClaw thanks @tdjackey for reporting.

Publication Update (2026-02-25)

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