OpenClaw before 2026.4.15 captures resolved bearer-auth configuration at startup, allowing revoked tokens to remain valid after SecretRef rotation. Gateway HTTP and WebSocket handlers fail to re-resolve authentication per-request, enabling attackers to use rotated-out bearer tokens for unauthorized gateway access.
When OpenClaw application starts, it resolves and saves the bearer authentication configuration (including tokens from SecretRef) only once. The HTTP and WebSocket gateway handlers do not verify authentication again on each request. As a result, when an administrator performs SecretRef rotation to invalidate a token, the old token is still accepted by the gateway because the application does not fetch the updated configuration.
An attacker possessing an invalidated bearer token can gain unauthorized access to HTTP and WebSocket gateway, bypassing access control mechanisms and potentially obtaining or modifying data processed by the gateway.
OpenClaw should be updated to version 2026.4.15 or later, which introduces re-resolution of authentication configuration on every request. The patch is available in the project repository (commit acd4e0a32f12e1ad85f3130f63b42443ce90f094).
OpenClaw in versions before 2026.4.15
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:XOpenclaw
APPOpenclaw< 2026.4.15
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