OpenClaw's Windows cmd.exe parsing may bypass exec allowlist/approval gating
Summary
On Windows nodes, exec requests were executed via cmd.exe /d /s /c <rawCommand>. In allowlist/approval-gated mode, the allowlist analysis did not model Windows cmd.exe parsing and metacharacter behavior. A crafted command string could cause cmd.exe to interpret additional operations (for example command chaining via &, or expansion via %...% / !...!) beyond what was allowlisted/approved.
Affected Packages / Versions
- Package:
openclaw(npm) - Affected:
<= 2026.2.1 - Patched:
>= 2026.2.2 - Latest (npm) as of 2026-02-14:
2026.2.13
Details
- Default installs: Not affected unless you opt into exec allowlist/approval gating on Windows nodes.
- Windows execution uses
cmd.exeviasrc/infra/node-shell.ts. - The fix hardens Windows allowlist enforcement by:
- Passing the platform into allowlist analysis and rejecting Windows shell metacharacters.
- Treating
cmd.exeinvocation as not allowlist-safe on Windows. - Avoiding
cmd.exeentirely in allowlist mode by executing the parsed argv directly when possible.
Fix Commit(s)
a7f4a53ce80c98ba1452eb90802d447fca9bf3d6
Thanks @simecek for reporting.
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