Bug type

Behavior bug (incorrect output/state without crash)

Beta release blocker

No

Summary

A MEDIA directive containing a local image path followed by serialized tool-result JSON can be parsed as one polluted file path, causing outbound media delivery to fail with ENOENT.

Steps to reproduce

1. Generate or otherwise produce a local image file path, for example /path/to/image.png.
2. Send an assistant reply containing a MEDIA directive where serialized metadata is appended after the image path, for example: MEDIA:/path/to/image.png"}],"details":{"provider":"openai","model":"gpt-image-2"}
3. Deliver the reply through a channel that opens/uploads local MEDIA paths.
4. Observe that the channel attempts to open the polluted path including the trailing JSON.

Expected behavior

The MEDIA parser should extract only the valid media source /path/to/image.png, or reject/sanitize the malformed token before passing it to channel delivery.

Actual behavior

The parsed media path can include trailing serialized JSON such as "}],"details":{...}. The channel then attempts to open that polluted path and fails with ENOENT.

OpenClaw version

2026.4.26

Operating system

Ubuntu 24.04 / Linux 6.17.0-22-generic x64

Install method

npm global / systemd user service

Model

openai-codex/gpt-5.5 with image generation via openai/gpt-image-2

Provider / routing chain

OpenClaw assistant reply -> MEDIA directive parsing -> channel outbound media delivery.

Observed with the openclaw-weixin channel, but the parsing issue appears to be in the shared MEDIA directive handling before channel delivery.

Additional provider/model setup details

The issue was observed after image generation returned a local image path plus structured metadata. The generated image file existed and could be delivered successfully when resent as a clean single-line MEDIA directive.

Logs, screenshots, and evidence

Observed failed path shape:

/path/to/image.png"}],"details":{"provider":"openai","model":"gpt-image-2",...}

Observed error:

ENOENT: no such file or directory, open '/path/to/image.png"}],"details":{"provider":"openai","model":"gpt-image-2",...}'

The same image delivered successfully when resent as:

MEDIA:/path/to/image.png

A local defensive patch that trims known media extensions before trailing serialized JSON also made this polluted test directive deliver successfully:

MEDIA:/path/to/image.png"}],"details":{"test":"polluted-media-path"}

Impact and severity

Affected: Channels that support local MEDIA path delivery, observed with openclaw-weixin.

Severity: Medium to high for image/file delivery workflows, because generated images may fail to send even though the file exists.

Frequency: Reproduced with polluted MEDIA paths; clean MEDIA paths work.

Consequence: Users see failed media delivery and must ask the assistant to resend the same file using a clean path.

Additional information

Temporary workaround: send the media path as a clean standalone directive, for example MEDIA:/path/to/image.png, without any adjacent metadata or serialized tool result text.

Suggested fix:

• Harden the shared MEDIA directive parser so a local path ending in a known media extension is not allowed to absorb trailing serialized JSON.
• Add boundary validation in channel outbound media adapters before file I/O: sanitize or reject polluted media paths, and log both the raw and sanitized media source.