OpenClaw Security Controls Beyond NemoClaw’s Scope#

NemoClaw provides infrastructure-layer security through sandbox isolation, network policy, filesystem restrictions, SSRF validation, and credential handling. It delegates all application-layer security to OpenClaw. This page documents areas where NemoClaw adds no independent protection beyond what OpenClaw already provides.

The details below reflect the OpenClaw documentation at the time of writing. Consult the OpenClaw Security docs for the current state.

Prompt Injection Detection and Prevention#

OpenClaw detects and neutralizes prompt injection attempts before they reach the agent.

Control

Detail

Regex detection

Pattern matching detects common injection vectors such as “ignore all previous instructions” and <system> tag spoofing

Boundary wrapping

Untrusted input is wrapped in randomized XML boundary markers

Unicode folding

Homoglyph folding normalizes bracket variants to prevent visual spoofing

Invisible character stripping

Zero-width invisible characters are removed from input

Boundary sanitization

Fake boundary markers are sanitized to prevent marker injection

Auto-wrapping

Web fetch and search results are automatically wrapped as untrusted external content

Tool Access Control and Policy Pipeline#

OpenClaw enforces a multi-layer tool policy pipeline that gates every tool call.

Control

Detail

Deny list

High-risk tools (exec, spawn, shell, fs_write, fs_delete, and others) are blocked from Gateway HTTP by default

Policy pipeline

Multi-layer pipeline evaluates tool calls through profile, provider, agent, sandbox, and per-provider policies

Fail-closed semantics

Tool call hooks block execution on any error

Loop detection

Optional guard detects and blocks repeated identical tool call patterns (disabled by default, opt-in via tools.loopDetection.enabled)

Plugin approval

Approval workflow defaults to deny on timeout

Authentication Rate Limiting and Flood Protection#

OpenClaw rate-limits authentication attempts and guards against connection floods.

Control

Detail

Auth rate limiter

Sliding-window rate limiter tracks failed authentication attempts per IP and per scope

Control plane limiter

Per-device write rate limiting for control plane operations

WebSocket flood guard

Closes connections after repeated unauthorized attempts

Pre-auth budget

Limits connections before authentication completes

Environment Variable Security Policy#

OpenClaw blocks environment variables that could enable code injection, privilege escalation, or credential theft.

Category

Detail

Always-blocked keys

Keys such as NODE_OPTIONS, LD_PRELOAD, shell injection vectors, crypto mining variables, and GIT_* hijacking paths

Override-blocked keys

Additional keys blocked unless explicitly overridden

Blocked prefixes

Prefixes such as GIT_CONFIG_, NPM_CONFIG_, CARGO_REGISTRIES_, TF_VAR_

Universal blocked prefixes

DYLD_, LD_, BASH_FUNC_

Security Audit Framework#

OpenClaw runs automated security checks (50+ distinct check types) that cover configuration, credential handling, and sandbox posture. Run openclaw security audit to see all findings for your deployment.

These checks include:

  • Synced-folder leak detection.

  • Plaintext secrets in configuration files.

  • Hooks hardening verification.

  • Gateway no-auth detection.

  • Sandbox misconfiguration scanning.

  • Weak-model susceptibility assessment.

  • Multi-user exposure matrix.

  • Node command policy validation.

  • Dangerous config flag scanning (allowInsecureAuth, dangerouslyDisableDeviceAuth, and similar flags).

Skill and Extension Supply Chain Scanning#

OpenClaw scans skills and extensions with a built-in static analysis scanner before installation. Critical findings block installation by default.

The scanner checks for patterns including:

  • Direct process execution calls.

  • Dynamic code execution (eval, new Function, and similar constructs).

  • Cryptocurrency mining patterns.

  • Unexpected network activity.

  • Potential data exfiltration (file read combined with network calls).

  • Obfuscated code.

  • Environment variable harvesting combined with network calls.

DM and Group Messaging Access Policy#

OpenClaw controls who can interact with the agent through direct messages and group channels.

Control

Detail

DM policy modes

4 modes: open, disabled, pairing, allowlist

Group policies

Per-group access rules

Per-sender authorization

Individual sender gating

Command authorization

Command-level access control

Multi-user detection

Heuristic that detects multi-user scenarios

Context Visibility and Output Controls#

OpenClaw restricts what supplemental context the agent can see and how it can modify outputs.

Control

Detail

Mode-based restrictions

Limits visibility of history, threads, quotes, and forwarded messages based on the active mode

Sender-based restrictions

Limits visibility based on who sent the message

Plugin output hooks

Plugin hooks intercept and modify tool results before they reach the user

Safe Regex (ReDoS Prevention)#

OpenClaw includes safe regex compilation to prevent Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) attacks. The implementation detects unsafe nested quantifiers, bounds input length, and caches results.

Next Steps#