OpenClaw: Unavailable local auth SecretRefs could fall through to remote credentials in local mode

Summary

In affected versions of openclaw, local gateway helper credential resolution treated configured but unavailable gateway.auth.token and gateway.auth.password SecretRefs as if they were unset and could fall back to gateway.remote.* credentials in local mode.

Impact

This could cause local CLI and helper paths to select the wrong credential source instead of failing closed for configured local auth SecretRefs. We did not confirm a server-side gateway-authentication boundary bypass for this issue.

Affected Packages and Versions

• Package: openclaw (npm)
• Affected versions: <= 2026.3.8
• Fixed in: 2026.3.11

Technical Details

The local-mode fallback logic decided whether remote credential fallback was allowed based on resolved credential values rather than on whether the local auth input was actually configured. A configured-but-unavailable local SecretRef therefore looked "absent" to the helper layer.

Fix

OpenClaw now tracks whether the local auth input is configured separately from whether it resolves successfully. In local mode, remote fallback is allowed only when the matching local auth input is truly unset. The fix shipped in openclaw@2026.3.11.

Workarounds

Upgrade to 2026.3.11 or later.