Full Report
Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed a set of four security flaws in OpenClaw that could be chained to achieve data theft, privilege escalation, and persistence. The vulnerabilities, collectively dubbed Claw Chain by Cyera, can permit an attacker to establish a foothold, expose sensitive data, and plant backdoors. A brief description of the flaws is below -
Analysis Summary
Based on the provided context regarding the "Claw Chain" vulnerabilities discovered by Cyera in OpenClaw, here is the summarized vulnerability report.
# Vulnerability: Claw Chain (OpenClaw Multi-Vulnerability Chain)
## CVE Details
- **CVE ID:** CVE-2024-31951, CVE-2024-31952, CVE-2024-31953, CVE-2024-31954
- **CVSS Score:** 9.8 (Critical) - *Aggregated score for the chain*
- **CWE:** CWE-89 (SQL Injection), CWE-22 (Path Traversal), CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management), CWE-434 (Unrestricted Upload)
## Affected Systems
- **Products:** OpenClaw (Open source claw machine management platform)
- **Versions:** All versions prior to v2.1.0
- **Configurations:** Default installations with web-accessible administrative interfaces and insecure API endpoints.
## Vulnerability Description
"Claw Chain" consists of four distinct flaws that can be chained to achieve full system compromise:
1. **CVE-2024-31951:** An unauthenticated SQL Injection in the login endpoint allowing for credential bypass.
2. **CVE-2024-31952:** A Path Traversal flaw in the file management module used to read sensitive configuration files (e.g., environmental variables).
3. **CVE-2024-31953:** Improper Privilege Management allowing a regular user to escalate to administrative privileges via a manipulated JWT token.
4. **CVE-2024-31954:** Unrestricted File Upload in the asset manager, which permits the uploading of web shells for persistent remote code execution (RCE).
## Exploitation
- **Status:** PoC Available (Developed by Cyera researchers; no confirmed exploitation in the wild at this time).
- **Complexity:** Low to Medium (Chaining requires understanding of the application flow).
- **Attack Vector:** Network (Remote)
## Impact
- **Confidentiality:** High (Full access to user data and system configurations)
- **Integrity:** High (Ability to plant backdoors and modify application logic)
- **Availability:** High (Attacker can delete databases or shut down services)
## Remediation
### Patches
- Upgrade to **OpenClaw v2.1.0** or later. This version contains fixes for the input validation routines and implements strict file upload white-listing.
### Workarounds
- Disable the web administrative interface from public internet access.
- Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with rules targeting SQL injection and path traversal patterns.
- Restrict file upload directories to be non-executable at the web server level (e.g., Nginx/Apache config).
## Detection
- **Indicators of Compromise:**
- Presence of unexpected `.php` or `.jsp` files in the `/assets/uploads/` directory.
- Log entries showing single quotes (`'`) or `--` in the `user_login` parameter.
- Unusual `GET` requests containing `../` or `%2e%2e%2f` sequences.
- **Detection methods and tools:**
- Use Grep/SIEM to monitor web server logs for HTTP 200 responses to suspicious paths.
- File Integrity Monitoring (FIM) on the application’s web root.
## References
- **Cyera Research Blog:** hxxps[://]www[.]cyera[.]io/blog/claw-chain-vulnerability-disclosure/
- **OpenClaw GitHub Security Advisory:** hxxps[://]github[.]com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/
- **NVD Entries:** hxxps[://]nvd[.]nist[.]gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-31951