CRITICAL
OpenClaw control plane exposed to the internet
Why it matters
OpenClaw (also seen as Clawdbot/Moltbot) is a personal AI agent gateway. A public control UI — especially with auth_mode none — lets strangers drive the agent, its tools, and its skills.
Fix it — 3 steps
- Enable authentication on the gateway and never leave auth_mode set to none on a public interface.
- Bind the control plane to 127.0.0.1 or a VPN; put TLS + an authenticating reverse proxy in front if remote access is required.
- Block the default port:
sudo ufw deny 18789. Rotate any API keys or credentials the agent could reach while it was open.
Verify it’s fixed
curl -m 5 http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:18789/; curl -m 5 http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:18789/__openclaw/control-ui-config.json # strangers should not get the control UI or an auth_mode: none config
References
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