CVE-2026-41340: 
OpenClaw (formerly Moltbot or Clawdbot) vulnerability analysis and mitigation

CVE-2026-41340 is an authentication boundary vulnerability in OpenClaw (npm package) affecting all versions prior to 2026.3.31. During the Telegram legacy allowFrom migration process, the software incorrectly propagates trust from the default account into all named accounts, enabling attackers to bypass authentication controls and gain unauthorized access to named accounts. The vulnerability was published on April 23, 2026, with a fix released in version 2026.3.31. It carries a CVSS v3.1 score of 6.5 (Medium) and a CVSS v4.0 score of 6.3 (Medium) (Github Advisory, OpenClaw Advisory).

The root cause is classified as CWE-372 (Incomplete Internal State Distinction), where the application fails to correctly distinguish between the default account state and named account states during a legacy migration routine (Github Advisory). Specifically, the detectLegacyStateMigrations function in src/infra/state-migrations.ts used listTelegramAccountIds() to enumerate all configured Telegram accounts and copied the legacy allowFrom trust store to each of them, rather than restricting the copy to only the resolved default account (Fix Commit). The fix replaces this fan-out logic with resolveDefaultTelegramAccountId(), ensuring the legacy allowFrom data is migrated only to the single designated default account. Exploitation requires network access and the presence of the legacy migration state (Attack Requirements: Present), but no privileges or user interaction are needed.

Successful exploitation allows a remote, unauthenticated attacker to gain unauthorized access to named Telegram accounts within OpenClaw by leveraging incorrectly propagated authentication trust. The confidentiality impact is low (potential exposure of account-level data), and the integrity impact is low (potential for unauthorized modifications to account information); system availability is not affected (Github Advisory, OpenClaw Advisory). The scope is limited to the vulnerable system itself, with no demonstrated impact on subsequent systems.

There is no public proof-of-concept exploit and no evidence of active in-the-wild exploitation as of the time of disclosure (Github Advisory). The EPSS score is approximately 0.06–0.11%, indicating a low near-term exploitation probability. The vulnerability is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog. No threat actor attribution has been reported.

Upgrade OpenClaw (npm) to version 2026.3.31 or later, which contains the fix restricting the Telegram legacy allowFrom migration to the default account only (Fix Commit, OpenClaw Advisory). Organizations should also review account access logs for any anomalous authentication patterns or unexpected access to named Telegram accounts that may indicate prior exploitation. No configuration-based workaround has been published; upgrading is the only recommended remediation.

The vulnerability was reported by researcher smaeljaish771 and sponsored by KeenSecurityLab, with the fix authored by pgondhi987 (OpenClaw Advisory). The maintainer assessed the severity as low and noted the fix was already present in the released version 2026.3.31 at the time of advisory publication. No significant broader media coverage or notable community commentary has been identified beyond the GitHub advisory and standard vulnerability database entries.