CVE-2026-53816
OpenClaw: paired-node forgery of exec events bypasses auth
Is CVE-2026-53816 being exploited?
Not confirmed. CVE-2026-53816 does not appear in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which records only exploitation that has been observed and reported publicly. That is evidence of absence of a report, not evidence the flaw is unattacked. EPSS currently estimates a 0.34% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How severe is CVE-2026-53816?
CVE-2026-53816 is rated High with a CVSS score of 8.6. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.
Is there a patch for CVE-2026-53816?
Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2026-53816. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.
What does CVE-2026-53816 affect?
CVE-2026-53816 affects OpenClaw. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
What should I do about CVE-2026-53816?
Apply patch; tighten paired-node auth; monitor node.event activity.
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
By forging node.event messages, attacker can steer sessions into restricted exec-event paths, bypassing authorization.
Immediate action required
- affected< 2026.5.18
As published in the CVE Program record. A version outside these ranges is not a statement that it is unaffected — vendors sometimes understate a range, and distribution-backported builds carry upstream numbers that do not reflect what was patched into them.