CVE-2026-27485: OpenClaw: Reject symlinks in local skill packaging script

Vulnerability

skills/skill-creator/scripts/package_skill.py (a local helper script used when authors package skills) previously followed symlinks while building .skill archives.

If an author runs this script on a crafted local skill directory containing symlinks to files outside the skill root, the resulting archive can include unintended file contents.

Severity and Exposure

• Severity: Low
• Execution context: local/manual workflow only (skill author packaging step)
• No remote trigger: this is not reachable via normal OpenClaw gateway/chat runtime paths
• No extraction Zip Slip in this finding: this issue is limited to packaging-time symlink following

Impact

• Potential unintentional disclosure of local files from the packaging machine into a generated .skill artifact.
• Requires local execution of the packaging script on attacker-controlled skill contents.

Affected Components

• skills/skill-creator/scripts/package_skill.py

Affected Packages / Versions

• Package: openclaw (npm)
• Latest published version during triage: 2026.2.17
• Vulnerable version range: <= 2026.2.17
• Planned patched version (next release): 2026.2.18

Remediation

• Reject symlinks during skill packaging.
• Add regression tests for symlink file and symlink directory cases.
• Update packaging guidance to document the symlink restriction.

Fix Commit(s)

• c275932aa4230fb7a8212fe1b9d2a18424874b3f
• ee1d6427b544ccadd73e02b1630ea5c29ba9a9f0

Related PR

• https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/pull/20796

Release Process Note

patched_versions is pre-set to the planned next release (2026.2.18). Once npm [email protected] is published, this advisory is ready to publish without additional edits.

Thanks @aether-ai-agent for reporting.