@rtk-ai/rtk-rewrite transparently rewrites shell commands executed via OpenClaw's exec tool to their RTK equivalents.
Date: 2026-06
Affected: rtkai/rtk-rewrite
Attack vector: command-injection
Category: vulnerability-disclosure
Severity: Medium
CVE: CVE-2026-55249
CWE: CWE-78
CVSS: 6.3 (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N)

@rtk-ai/rtk-rewrite transparently rewrites shell commands executed via OpenClaw's exec tool to their RTK equivalents. In 1.0.0, the @rtk-ai/rtk-rewrite OpenClaw plugin passes attacker-controlled input directly into a shell-backed execSync() template string without shell-safe escaping. JSON.stringify() wraps the value in double quotes and escapes inner double-quotes and backslashes, but leaves $() and backtick shell metacharacters untouched. Because execSync delegates execution to /bin/sh -c, the shell expands $(...) substitutions even inside double-quoted strings, causing the injected subcommand to execute before rtk is invoked. An attacker who can influence the exec tool's command parameter (e.g., via an LLM agent prompt or gateway/tool-call input) achieves arbitrary OS command execution with the privileges of the plugin/gateway process.


Mitigations:

Architectural layers (MAESTRO):