OpenClaw has hook auth rate limiter bypass via IPv4-mapped IPv6 client key variants
Vulnerability
The hook authentication throttle keyed failed attempts by raw socket remoteAddress text.
IPv4 and IPv4-mapped IPv6 forms of the same client (for example 1.2.3.4 and ::ffff:1.2.3.4) were treated as different clients, allowing separate rate-limit buckets.
Impact
An attacker could split failed hook-auth attempts across both address forms and effectively double the brute-force budget from 20 to 40 attempts per 60-second window.
Affected Components
src/gateway/server-http.tssrc/gateway/auth-rate-limit.ts
Affected Packages / Versions
- Package:
openclaw(npm) - Vulnerable versions:
<= 2026.2.21-2 - Patched version (planned next release):
2026.2.22
Remediation
Centralize and reuse canonical client-IP normalization for auth rate-limiting, and use that canonical key for hook auth throttling.
Fix Commit(s)
3284d2eb227e7b6536d543bcf5c3e320bc9d13c5
Release Process Note
patched_versions is pre-set to the planned next release (2026.2.22) so once npm release 2026.2.22 is published, this advisory can be published directly.
OpenClaw thanks @aether-ai-agent for reporting.
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