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Security audit

Openclaw Release Validation

Security checks for vulnerabilities and agentic risk

Overview

ClawScan rates this skill suspicious because its instructions include an installer that downloads a mutable latest-release script and runs it without verifying it; analysis was also incomplete for one referenced file.

Consider the verdict suspicious before installing. The main reported risk is running an unverified installer script from a mutable URL. Scanner coverage was partial: 11 of 12 components were fully inspected, with a referenced file only partially analyzed. The scan therefore does not provide complete evidence about that file.

Vulnerability Patterns
  • Skill Instruction HijackingAlters the agent's session goals or safety constraints when the skill loads
  • Agent Memory PoisoningWrites attacker-controlled rules into memory that affect later sessions
  • Remote Payload Retrieval and ExecutionFetches external code whose behavior can change after review
  • Embedded Malicious CodeShips malicious scripts inside the skill and executes them locally
  • Unauthorized Access and Privilege EscalationObtains permissions beyond the task's legitimate needs
Vulnerability Patterns
  • Supply ChainUnpinned Dependencies, External Script Fetching, Obfuscated Code
  • Excessive AgencyUnrestricted Tool Access, Autonomous Decision Making, Scope Creep
  • Tool MisuseTool Parameter Abuse, Chaining Abuse, Unsafe Defaults
  • Prompt InjectionInstruction Override, Hidden Instructions, Exfiltration Commands
  • Data ExfiltrationExternal Transmission, Env Variable Harvesting, File System Enumeration
Findings (4)

Incomplete referenced artifact analysis

High
Category
analysis-evasion
Confidence
100% confidence
Finding

Referenced artifact was not completely inspected

Content

Scanner excerpt · SKILL.md (reported line 25)May include surrounding context.

md
3. Read [Gateway preparation](references/gateway-preparation.md). Discover without mutation, let the tester choose source and mode, then prepare the selected ta

Chaining Abuse

High
Category
Tool Misuse
Confidence
96% confidence
Finding

Piping the remote response directly into bash immediately turns downloaded content into executable instructions, without a verification step. This is the same underlying installer vulnerability identified by SC2, rather than a separate attack chain; installation consent does not establish that the fetched script is trustworthy.

Content

Scanner excerpt · references/gateway-preparation.md (reported line 50)May include surrounding context.

it before continuing:

sh
curl -fsSL https://github.com/openclaw/ocm/releases/latest/download/install.sh | bash
ocm --version

Autonomous Decision Making

Medium
Category
Excessive Agency
Confidence
75% confidence
Finding

Skill enables autonomous high-impact decisions without human-in-the-loop verification. Critical operations (destructive commands, financial transactions, data deletion) should require explicit user confirmation.

Content

Scanner excerpt · references/skill-update.md (reported line 46)May include surrounding context.

md
Never continue release validation in that task after changing the skill.

On `continue with current skill`, continue normally. For `current`, continue
without asking. For `ahead-of-latest`, `local-modifications`,
`different-source`, `untracked`, or `check-failed`, report the installed source
and version plus the status briefly and continue without offering an automated
update; the checker could not prove that replacing this copy is safe.

External Script Fetching

Low
Category
Supply Chain
Confidence
97% confidence
Finding

The installer is fetched from a mutable latest-release URL and executed without verifying its integrity or authenticity independently. Explicit installation approval and an official GitHub origin reduce unauthorized-action concerns, but a compromised release could still execute arbitrary code with the tester's privileges; checking the installed version afterward cannot prevent that execution.

Content

Scanner excerpt · references/gateway-preparation.md (reported line 50)May include surrounding context.

it before continuing:

sh
curl -fsSL https://github.com/openclaw/ocm/releases/latest/download/install.sh | bash
ocm --version