CVE-2026-28462 is a path traversal flaw in the OpenClaw browser control API. It accepted user-supplied output paths for trace and download files without keeping writes inside temporary directories. NVD scores it 7.5. Upgrade openclaw to 2026.2.13 or later, and limit who can reach the browser control API.
What's affected
The GitHub advisory GHSA-gq9c-wg68-gwj2 lists affected versions before 2026.2.13 and patched versions 2026.2.13 and later of the npm package openclaw. The advisory says the fix landed on the main branch on 13 February 2026 and is in v2026.2.14.
Three endpoints are named: stopping a trace, waiting for a download, and downloading. All three now enforce OpenClaw temp-root boundaries and reject traversal and escape paths.
The advisory says the attacker needs access to the browser control API, and that success depends on process filesystem permissions. It rates it High at 7.5. The weakness is CWE-22 (Path Traversal).
How to check if you're exposed
Check the OpenClaw version in each project and global install.
npm ls openclaw
npm ls -g openclaw
Then check who can reach the browser control API. It should be available only to the process and users that need it, not to a wider network.
What to do now
- Upgrade openclaw to 2026.2.13 or later.
- Restrict network access to the browser control API to trusted callers.
- Run OpenClaw as a user with write access limited to its own working directories.
- Review the filesystem for unexpected files written by the OpenClaw process outside its temp directories.
- Add the package to dependency monitoring.
Why it matters
When an API lets the caller choose where a file will be written, the server has to decide whether that location is acceptable. The affected endpoints took a user-supplied output path and did not consistently require it to sit inside the managed temporary directory.
The result is an arbitrary file write limited by what the process may write. An integrity impact is the only one listed in the record's vector. Even so, writing a file in the wrong place can overwrite configuration or drop content that is later loaded, so the realistic worst case depends on the host.
The fix is the standard one: resolve the path, compare it with the allowed root, and reject anything outside. A shared helper for this, used by every endpoint, is better than checks repeated in each handler.
The record does not flag exploitation in the wild, and the CVE is not in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
Quick check
Which endpoints are involved?
Stopping a trace, waiting for a download, and downloading, per the advisory. All three now enforce temp directory boundaries.
Does the attacker need access first?
Yes. The advisory says they need access to the browser control API.
Sources
Last reviewed: 19 October 2026.
