CVE-2026-27003: OpenClaw Information Disclosure Vulnerability

CVE-2026-27003 Overview

OpenClaw is a personal AI assistant that integrates with Telegram. A sensitive data exposure vulnerability exists in versions prior to 2026.2.15 where Telegram bot tokens can appear in error messages and stack traces without proper redaction. When request URLs include https://api.telegram.org/bot<token>/..., OpenClaw logged these strings without sanitization, potentially leaking bot tokens into logs, crash reports, CI output, or support bundles.

Critical Impact

Disclosure of a Telegram bot token allows an attacker to impersonate the bot and take over Bot API access, potentially compromising user communications and bot functionality.

Affected Products

• OpenClaw versions prior to 2026.2.15
• OpenClaw Node.js package (openclaw:openclaw)
• OpenClaw deployments with Telegram bot integration

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-02-20 - CVE-2026-27003 published to NVD
• 2026-02-20 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-27003

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-522 (Insufficiently Protected Credentials). The core issue lies in OpenClaw's error handling and logging infrastructure, which failed to recognize and redact sensitive Telegram bot tokens embedded within API URLs. When errors occurred during Telegram API requests, the full URL—including the embedded bot token—was captured and logged without any sanitization.

The attack requires local access to systems where OpenClaw logs are stored, such as development machines, CI/CD pipelines, log aggregation systems, or support bundle collections. Once an attacker obtains a valid bot token, they gain complete control over the Telegram bot, enabling them to send messages as the bot, access message history, and potentially manipulate automated workflows.

Root Cause

The root cause is inadequate input sanitization in the error handling module (src/infra/errors.ts). The logging infrastructure lacked pattern matching for Telegram bot token formats, which follow the structure <bot_id>:<secret> (e.g., 123456789:ABCdefGHIjklMNOpqrSTUvwxYZ). These tokens were being passed through to log outputs without redaction, despite the application already having redaction capabilities for other sensitive patterns like API keys.

Attack Vector

An attacker with local access to log files, CI output, crash reports, or support bundles can search for Telegram bot token patterns in plaintext logs. The attacker would look for URLs matching the pattern /bot<token>/ or standalone token formats matching \d{6,}:[A-Za-z0-9_-]{20,}. Once extracted, the token provides full Bot API access without any additional authentication.

// Security patch adding Telegram bot token redaction
// Source: https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/cf69907015b659e5025efb735ee31bd05c4ee3d5

// In src/infra/errors.ts:
+import { redactSensitiveText } from "../logging/redact.js";
+
 export function extractErrorCode(err: unknown): string | undefined {
   if (!err || typeof err !== "object") {
     return undefined;

The fix implements proper redaction by importing the redactSensitiveText function into the error handling module and adding a specific regex pattern to catch Telegram bot tokens:

// Updated redaction patterns in src/logging/redact.ts:
// Source: https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/commit/cf69907015b659e5025efb735ee31bd05c4ee3d5

   String.raw`\b(AIza[0-9A-Za-z\-_]{20,})\b`,
   String.raw`\b(pplx-[A-Za-z0-9_-]{10,})\b`,
   String.raw`\b(npm_[A-Za-z0-9]{10,})\b`,
+  // Telegram Bot API URLs embed the token as `/bot<token>/...` (no word-boundary before digits).
+  String.raw`\bbot(\d{6,}:[A-Za-z0-9_-]{20,})\b`,
   String.raw`\b(\d{6,}:[A-Za-z0-9_-]{20,})\b`,

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-27003

Indicators of Compromise

• Presence of Telegram bot tokens in plaintext log files matching the pattern \d{6,}:[A-Za-z0-9_-]{20,}
• URLs containing /bot<token>/ patterns in error logs, stack traces, or crash reports
• Unauthorized Telegram bot activity such as unexpected messages sent from the bot or unauthorized API calls
• Evidence of log file access or exfiltration from systems running OpenClaw

Detection Strategies

• Implement log scanning to detect exposed Telegram bot token patterns using regex \d{6,}:[A-Za-z0-9_-]{20,}
• Monitor Telegram Bot API usage through the Telegram BotFather dashboard for anomalous activity
• Set up SentinelOne Singularity to monitor for suspicious file access patterns targeting log directories
• Deploy CI/CD secret scanning tools to flag exposed tokens in build outputs before deployment

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable audit logging for access to log files and crash report directories on systems running OpenClaw
• Configure alerting on Telegram bot API errors that may indicate token compromise or misuse
• Implement centralized log management with automated secret detection capabilities
• Use SentinelOne's behavioral AI to detect unusual process activity related to log file harvesting

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-27003

Immediate Actions Required

• Upgrade OpenClaw to version 2026.2.15 or later immediately
• Rotate any Telegram bot tokens that may have been exposed in logs prior to the upgrade
• Audit existing log files, CI outputs, and crash reports for exposed token patterns and securely delete or redact affected files
• Review access controls on systems where OpenClaw logs are stored

Patch Information

The vulnerability is fixed in OpenClaw version 2026.2.15. The patch adds proper redaction of Telegram bot tokens in error handling and logging modules. Users should upgrade immediately and can review the fix details in the GitHub Commit and the GitHub Security Advisory.

Workarounds

• If immediate upgrade is not possible, implement external log filtering to strip Telegram bot token patterns before storage
• Restrict access to log files, CI outputs, and crash reports to essential personnel only
• Configure environment variables or secrets management to store bot tokens separately from application code
• Consider temporarily disabling Telegram integration until the patch can be applied

# Configuration example - Rotate Telegram bot token after upgrade
# 1. Generate a new token via BotFather in Telegram
# 2. Update the OpenClaw configuration with the new token
export TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN="new_token_from_botfather"

# 3. Restart OpenClaw service
systemctl restart openclaw

# 4. Verify the old token is revoked in BotFather
# 5. Search and purge old logs containing exposed tokens
grep -rl "[0-9]\{6,\}:[A-Za-z0-9_-]\{20,\}" /var/log/openclaw/ | xargs rm -f