In This Article
Introduction
SecureClaw is an open-source auditing tool developed in response to the ClawHavoc supply chain attack and the 340 malicious skills discovery. It runs 55 automated checks to identify OpenClaw misconfigurations and malicious skill patterns. If you're running OpenClaw in production — or even for personal use with sensitive data — SecureClaw should be part of your routine. Run it before and after installing new Skills; integrate it into your deployment pipeline for continuous validation.
The tool is maintained by the Foundation and the security community. It catches the kinds of mistakes that lead to exposed instances, credential theft, and supply chain compromise. Consider it non-negotiable for any serious deployment.
SecureClaw is the security community's response to the 135,000 exposed instances and the 340 malicious skills. Those incidents proved that default configs and trust-in-the-supply-chain weren't enough. The ecosystem needed automated checking. Run SecureClaw. Fix what it finds. Run it again. It's the same discipline as running linters on code — catch problems before they reach production.
What It Checks
SecureClaw covers five categories. Misconfigurations first: exposed Gateway (bound to 0.0.0.0 without auth), weak auth, auth-none mode, default credentials. These are the low-hanging fruit that attackers scan for. The 135,000 exposed instances were mostly misconfigurations. A simple check would have caught them.
Malicious skill patterns: suspicious network calls, file exfiltration code, eval() usage, obfuscation. Skills can do anything your user can do; malicious ones abuse that. SecureClaw scans Skill code for patterns that indicate malice. It's not perfect — determined attackers can evade — but it catches the obvious stuff. The ClawHavoc skills had telltale patterns. SecureClaw would have flagged them.
Dependencies: outdated packages with known CVEs. Your Skills pull in npm packages; those packages can have vulnerabilities. SecureClaw checks your dependency tree. Credentials: plaintext API keys in config, unencrypted storage. Credentials should be in the keyring or env vars, never in committed config files. Network: Gateway bound to public interface without auth, unnecessary ports open. Each category has multiple checks. Fifty-five total. They overlap — defense in depth.
Usage
npx secureclaw audit /path/to/openclaw
# or
secureclaw scan --config ./config.yamlOutput: pass/fail per check, remediation suggestions, severity ratings (low, medium, high, critical). Treat high and critical findings as blocking for production. Fix them before you go live. For existing deployments, run SecureClaw weekly — config drift happens.
The output is actionable. Each finding includes a severity level, a description of the risk, and remediation steps. You don't need to be a security expert to fix most issues. "Gateway bound to 0.0.0.0. Risk: exposed to internet. Remediation: bind to 127.0.0.1." That's clear. Fix it. Move on. The tool is designed for operators, not just security teams. It speaks your language.
CI/CD Integration
Add SecureClaw to your deployment pipeline. Fail the build if critical checks fail. Run it as a step before deploy. If you're using Docker, run SecureClaw against your config and Skill set before building the image. The goal: no insecure config reaches production. Many teams run SecureClaw in CI and again in staging before promoting to prod.
When to Run SecureClaw
Before installing any new Skill: Run SecureClaw to establish a baseline. Install the Skill. Run SecureClaw again. Compare. New failures? Investigate before you trust the Skill. After config changes: You changed auth, added a channel, or modified Skills. Run SecureClaw. Weekly for production: Schedule it. Config drift, dependency updates, and new Skills can introduce issues over time.
Wrapping Up
SecureClaw is essential for safe OpenClaw operation. See ClawHavoc and OpenClaw security for context. Run it. Fix what it finds. Repeat.