CVE-2026-26324 Overview
CVE-2026-26324 is a Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) vulnerability in OpenClaw, a personal AI assistant application. Prior to version 2026.2.14, the application's SSRF protection mechanisms could be bypassed using full-form IPv4-mapped IPv6 literals such as 0:0:0:0:0:ffff:7f00:1 (which represents 127.0.0.1). This bypass allows attackers to make requests to resources that should be blocked, including loopback addresses, private network ranges, and link-local metadata endpoints.
Critical Impact
Attackers can bypass SSRF protections to access internal services, cloud metadata endpoints, and sensitive resources on the local network, potentially leading to credential theft, internal service compromise, or further lateral movement within infrastructure.
Affected Products
- OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.2.14
Discovery Timeline
- 2026-02-19 - CVE CVE-2026-26324 published to NVD
- 2026-02-19 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2026-26324
Vulnerability Analysis
This vulnerability is classified under CWE-918 (Server-Side Request Forgery). The core issue lies in OpenClaw's incomplete validation of IP address formats when enforcing SSRF protection rules. While the application correctly blocks standard IPv4 representations of restricted addresses (such as 127.0.0.1 for loopback), it fails to account for alternative representations using IPv6 notation.
IPv4-mapped IPv6 addresses are a legitimate dual-stack networking feature that allows IPv6 applications to communicate with IPv4 hosts. The format ::ffff:x.x.x.x or its full form 0:0:0:0:0:ffff:xxxx:xxxx represents an IPv4 address within the IPv6 address space. By using this alternative notation, an attacker can specify addresses that the SSRF filter does not recognize as belonging to restricted ranges.
Root Cause
The root cause of this vulnerability is insufficient input normalization and incomplete IP address format handling in the SSRF protection mechanism. The validation logic likely performs string-based or partial pattern matching against known restricted IP ranges without first canonicalizing the input address to a standard format. This allows semantically equivalent addresses in different notations to evade detection.
Attack Vector
This vulnerability is exploitable over the network without authentication. An attacker can craft requests to the OpenClaw application that include URLs with IPv4-mapped IPv6 addresses pointing to restricted resources. For example, instead of requesting http://127.0.0.1/admin, an attacker could request http://[0:0:0:0:0:ffff:7f00:1]/admin to bypass loopback protections.
Common attack scenarios include:
- Accessing cloud provider metadata services (e.g., 169.254.169.254 via 0:0:0:0:0:ffff:a9fe:a9fe)
- Reaching internal administrative interfaces on localhost
- Scanning and interacting with services on private network ranges
- Exfiltrating sensitive configuration data or credentials from internal endpoints
The vulnerability mechanism involves IP address representation bypass. For technical details and the specific fix, see the GitHub Security Advisory GHSA-jrvc-8ff5-2f9f and the associated commit.
Detection Methods for CVE-2026-26324
Indicators of Compromise
- Outbound requests from OpenClaw containing IPv6 bracket notation in URLs (e.g., http://[0:0:0:0:0:ffff:...])
- Access logs showing requests to internal IP ranges that appear to originate from the application server
- Unusual responses or data exfiltration patterns from cloud metadata endpoints
Detection Strategies
- Monitor application logs for URL patterns containing ::ffff: or full-form IPv4-mapped IPv6 addresses
- Implement network-level detection rules for traffic from the OpenClaw server to internal resources or cloud metadata endpoints
- Deploy web application firewall rules to flag requests with IPv6 bracket notation targeting sensitive resources
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable verbose logging for all outbound HTTP requests made by OpenClaw
- Configure alerting for any access attempts to cloud metadata endpoints (169.254.169.254) from application servers
- Implement network segmentation monitoring to detect unauthorized east-west traffic patterns
How to Mitigate CVE-2026-26324
Immediate Actions Required
- Upgrade OpenClaw to version 2026.2.14 or later immediately
- Review application logs for evidence of exploitation attempts using IPv6 address notation
- Audit any cloud credentials or internal service configurations that may have been exposed
Patch Information
The vulnerability has been addressed in OpenClaw version 2026.2.14. The fix is available via the GitHub Release v2026.2.14. The specific code changes can be reviewed in the commit c0c0e0f9aecb913e738742f73e091f2f72d39a19.
Workarounds
- Implement network-level controls to block outbound requests from the OpenClaw server to sensitive internal resources and cloud metadata endpoints
- Deploy a web application firewall or reverse proxy with SSRF protection that normalizes IP addresses before validation
- If possible, run OpenClaw in a network-isolated environment with no access to internal services or cloud metadata endpoints
# Example: Block access to cloud metadata endpoint at network level (iptables)
iptables -A OUTPUT -d 169.254.169.254 -j DROP
# Example: Block loopback access from application (if running in container)
iptables -A OUTPUT -d 127.0.0.0/8 -j DROP
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
