CVE-2026-22175: OpenClaw's exec allow-always can be bypassed via unrecognized multiplexer shell wrappers (busybox/toybox sh -c)

Summary

OpenClaw exec approvals could be bypassed in allowlist mode when allow-always was granted through unrecognized multiplexer shell wrappers (notably busybox sh -c and toybox sh -c).

Affected Packages / Versions

• Package: openclaw (npm)
• Affected: <= 2026.2.22-2
• Latest published vulnerable version at triage time: 2026.2.22-2 (checked on February 24, 2026)
• Fixed on main: yes
• Patched release: 2026.2.23

Details

Wrapper analysis treated busybox/toybox invocations as non-wrapper commands in this path, so allow-always persisted the wrapper binary path instead of the inner executable. That allowed later arbitrary payloads under the same multiplexer wrapper to satisfy the stored allowlist rule.

The fix hardens wrapper detection and persistence behavior for these multiplexer shell applets so approvals bind to intended inner executables and fail closed when unwrap safety is uncertain.

Fix Commit(s)

• a67689a7e3ad494b6637c76235a664322d526f9e

Release Process Note

patched_versions is pre-set to the released version (2026.2.23). This advisory now reflects released fix version 2026.2.23.

OpenClaw thanks @jiseoung for reporting.