T06 · System Persistence
- Location
SKILL.md:25- Finding
Persistent Daily Agent Execution Through a Scheduled Task
- Content
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Vulnerability Details
File Location:
SKILL.md, lines 25-29
Vulnerability Type:T06: System Persistence
Risk Level: HighThe following excerpt is translated into English while preserving the command structure:
bash openclaw cron add --name "Daily Yu-Gi-Oh Japanese News Summary" \ --schedule "0 10 * * *" \ --timezone "Asia/Shanghai" \ --prompt "It is 2026. Summarize yesterday's Japanese Yu-Gi-Oh news, including new cards, rule updates, tournament information, and product releases. Produce a clear Chinese summary and use the correct 2026 date."Technical Analysis
The
openclaw cron addcommand registers a recurring Agent task that continues to execute after the installation session ends. The schedule causes it to run every day at 10:00 in theAsia/Shanghaitime zone.This constitutes system persistence because the scheduled task survives the original Skill invocation and repeatedly activates an Agent without requiring approval for each execution. The document does not specify an expiration date, execution limit, confirmation step, least-privilege execution context, or task-removal procedure.
The alternative Agent-based setup documented at lines 33-37 requests the same persistent behavior, although the concrete persistence mechanism is shown in lines 25-29.
Attack Path
- A user or Agent follows the installation instructions in
SKILL.md. - The
openclaw cron addcommand registers the recurring task. - The task remains configured after the original interaction ends.
- At 10:00 each day, OpenClaw invokes the stored prompt automatically.
- The Agent performs repeated news retrieval and sends output without obtaining fresh per-run user authorization.
- The execution continues indefinitely unless the task is manually identified and removed.
Impact Assessment
The scheduled task can repeatedly exercise the tools and permissions available to the OpenClaw Agent und ...[truncated 653 chars]
- A user or Agent follows the installation instructions in
- Remediation
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Remediation Suggestions
- Default to a one-time execution rather than creating a recurring scheduled task.
- Require explicit informed consent immediately before registration, displaying the exact schedule, prompt, execution identity, available tools, destination channel, and expected duration.
- Add an expiration date or maximum execution count so that the task cannot run indefinitely.
- Run the task under a dedicated least-privileged account or restricted Agent profile with only the network-search and message-delivery capabilities required for the summary.
- Document commands for listing, disabling, and removing the scheduled task, including the exact
openclaw cron removeprocedure supported by the installed OpenClaw version. - Ask for confirmation before enabling outbound searches or sending results to a conversation channel.
- Avoid hardcoding the year. Calculate the previous calendar date dynamically to prevent inaccurate prompts after 2026.
- Record each execution in an auditable log and provide a clear mechanism for users to suspend future runs.
