CVE-2026-53842

Q: How do I fix CVE-2026-53842?

Upgrade openclaw to 2026.5.2 or later.

Q: Is CVE-2026-53842 being actively exploited?

Not that we know of. CVE-2026-53842 is not in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Its EPSS score of 0.13% is the estimated probability that it will be exploited in the next 30 days. That is higher than 3% of all scored CVEs.

Q: How severe is CVE-2026-53842?

CVE-2026-53842 has a CVSS v3 base score of 7.1, rated high. CVSS rates the technical impact if the vulnerability is exploited, not how likely that is, so weigh it alongside the exploit-prediction score when you decide what to patch first.

Q: What does CVE-2026-53842 affect?

Published advisories record a fix for openclaw (NVD). Only products with a sourced advisory are listed, so treat this as what we can cite rather than a complete inventory.

HIGH

7.1

CVSS v3

NVD

Description

OpenClaw before 2026.5.2 contains an environment variable injection vulnerability allowing workspace .env files to influence Python runtime selection through CLOUDSDK_PYTHON during Gmail setup gcloud execution. Attackers with repository access can manipulate the CLOUDSDK_PYTHON variable to execute setup through unintended local Python paths, potentially enabling arbitrary code execution.

CWE-426

How to fix

Remediation Available

openclawNVD

Affected:< 2026.5.2Fixed in:2026.5.2CVE-2026-53842derived from NVD

TridentStack Control can deploy fixes like this automatically across your Windows, macOS, and Linux fleet. See how it works

Remediation is compiled from vendor and distribution security advisories. Always confirm against the linked source for your exact version and platform.

CVSS v3 Vector

Exploitability

Attack VectorLocal

Attack ComplexityLow

Privileges RequiredNone

User InteractionRequired

ScopeUnchanged

Impact

ConfidentialityHigh

IntegrityHigh

AvailabilityNone

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

Exploit Intelligence

0.13%probability of exploitation in 30 days

3rdpercentile

Low risk: more likely to be exploited than 3% of all known CVEs.

References

Vendor Advisory1

github.com

Third-Party Advisory1

vulncheck.com

Related Vulnerabilities

Other CWE-426 vulnerabilities, ordered by exploit likelihood. View all

CVE	Severity	CVSS	EPSS	Exploited	Fix
CVE-2015-0096	High	9.3	71%	-	-
CVE-2016-10009	High	7.3	37%	-	Fix
CVE-2016-0016	High	7.8	30%	-	-
CVE-2012-1854	High	7.8	21%	KEV	-
CVE-2018-12589	High	7.8	20%	-	-
CVE-2022-22047	High	7.8	19%	KEV	Fix

Common questions

How do I fix CVE-2026-53842?

Upgrade openclaw to 2026.5.2 or later.

Is CVE-2026-53842 being actively exploited?

Not that we know of. CVE-2026-53842 is not in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Its EPSS score of 0.13% is the estimated probability that it will be exploited in the next 30 days. That is higher than 3% of all scored CVEs.

How severe is CVE-2026-53842?

CVE-2026-53842 has a CVSS v3 base score of 7.1, rated high. CVSS rates the technical impact if the vulnerability is exploited, not how likely that is, so weigh it alongside the exploit-prediction score when you decide what to patch first.

What does CVE-2026-53842 affect?

Published advisories record a fix for openclaw (NVD). Only products with a sourced advisory are listed, so treat this as what we can cite rather than a complete inventory.

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This product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2026-06-18.