OpenClaw affected by BASH_ENV / ENV startup-file injection into spawned shell commands

Summary

BASH_ENV / ENV startup-file injection could lead to unintended pre-command shell execution when attacker-controlled environment values were admitted and then inherited by host command execution paths.

Affected Packages / Versions

• Package: openclaw (npm)
• Affected: <= 2026.2.19-2
• Fixed on main: 2cdbadee1f8fcaa93302d7debbfc529e19868ea4
• Planned patched release version: 2026.2.21

Details

The fix hardens environment handling across all relevant execution paths:

• Blocks dangerous startup/runtime env keys and prefixes in shared host env sanitization.
• Sanitizes inherited ambient environment even when no per-request overrides are provided.
• Blocks dangerous config-driven env injection before values enter process environment.
• Uses the same sanitizer in macOS host execution paths.
• Aligns skill env override sanitization with the shared dangerous-env policy.

Impact

Medium. Exploitation requires local/privileged influence over configuration or environment inputs; there is no standalone remote unauthenticated trigger from this issue alone.

Fix Commit(s)

• 2cdbadee1f8fcaa93302d7debbfc529e19868ea4

Release Process Note

patched_versions is pre-set to the planned next release (2026.2.21). Once npm openclaw@2026.2.21 is published, the advisory can be published without further field edits.

OpenClaw thanks @tdjackey for reporting.