How severe is CVE-2026-42435?

CVE-2026-42435 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.8, rated high severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2026-42435 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (33rd percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2026-42435?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.

Does CVE-2026-42435 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?

Yes. CVE-2026-42435 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2026-27253.

When was CVE-2026-42435 published?

CVE-2026-42435 was published on 2026-05-05 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2026-42435

CVE-2026-42435 is a high-severity vulnerability with a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.8. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-184.

Key facts

Severity: High (CVSS 3.x base score 8.8)
CVSS v4: 8.7
EPSS exploit prediction: 0% (33rd percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
EU (EUVD) id: EUVD-2026-27253
Weakness: CWE-184
Published: 2026-05-05
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

OpenClaw versions from 2026.2.22 before 2026.4.12 contain an insufficient shell-wrapper detection vulnerability allowing attackers to inject environment variable assignments at the argv level. Attackers can bypass exec preflight handling to manipulate high-risk shell variables like SHELLOPTS and PS4, affecting execution semantics and security controls.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-42435?: OpenClaw versions from 2026.2.22 before 2026.4.12 contain an insufficient shell-wrapper detection vulnerability allowing attackers to inject environment variable assignments at the argv level. Attackers can bypass exec preflight handling to manipulate high-risk shell variables like SHELLOPTS and PS4, affecting execution semantics and security controls.
How severe is CVE-2026-42435?: CVE-2026-42435 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.8, rated high severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2026-42435 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (33rd percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How do I fix CVE-2026-42435?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
Does CVE-2026-42435 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?: Yes. CVE-2026-42435 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2026-27253.
When was CVE-2026-42435 published?: CVE-2026-42435 was published on 2026-05-05 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Other CWE-184 vulnerabilities

CVE-2026-28363 — Critical (CVSS 9.9): In OpenClaw before 2026.2.23, tools.exec.safeBins validation for sort could be bypassed via GNU long-option…
CVE-2026-56315 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): picklescan before 1.0.4 fails to block at least seven Python standard library modules (including uuid, _osx_support,…
CVE-2026-53873 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): picklescan before 1.0.4 contains an incomplete blocklist for the profile module that fails to block the module-level…
CVE-2025-71323 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): picklescan before 0.0.33 fails to block the ctypes module, allowing attackers to achieve remote code execution by…
CVE-2025-71320 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): picklescan before 0.0.33 contains an incomplete deny-list that fails to block pydoc.locate and operator.methodcaller…
CVE-2026-41264 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): Flowise is a drag & drop user interface to build a customized large language model flow. Prior to 3.1.0, the specific…

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