Is OpenClaw Safe to Use?
OpenClaw is safe when configured properly. The core software is fully open-source and auditable on GitHub. The main security risks come from third-party skills: researchers identified 824 malicious packages on the ClawHub marketplace out of over 10,700 total (roughly 8%). Critical vulnerabilities (CVE-2026-25253 and CVE-2026-25157) affecting older versions were patched in v0.48.2 and later. To stay safe, keep OpenClaw updated, run it inside Docker for isolation, never expose your instance to the public internet, and verify community skills using the ClawHub VirusTotal report before installing. LaunchMyOpenClaw covers secure configuration in depth in our setup courses.
Why This Matters
OpenClaw runs on your hardware and has access to your files, email, browser, and connected services. A misconfigured instance can expose all of that to attackers.
The ClawHub marketplace is similar to any open package registry. Most skills are safe, but roughly 8% were found to contain malicious code. Treating skill installation like installing software (verify first, then trust) eliminates most risk.
The two critical CVEs have been patched, but only if you update. Running an outdated version of OpenClaw is the single biggest security mistake users make.
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