openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix [Bug]: Obfuscated command detection blocks ALL `python3 -c` inline code, not just encoded payloads [1 participants]

TL;DR

The issue can be mitigated by writing Python code to a file and executing it, rather than using inline commands with python3 -c.

Guidance

• The current implementation of OpenClaw 2026.4.1 is overly broad, flagging all python3 -c commands as obfuscated, regardless of content.
• To verify the issue, try running a simple, readable Python one-liner with python3 -c and observe if it is blocked by OpenClaw.
• Consider implementing a whitelist for trusted skills or narrowing the detection to only flag base64/hex-encoded payloads, as suggested in the issue.
• As a temporary workaround, use the suggested method of writing Python code to a file and executing it, as shown in the example.

Example

cat > /tmp/script.py << 'EOF'
import sqlite3
print(sqlite3.connect('db.sqlite').execute('SELECT count(*) FROM issues').fetchone()[0])
EOF
python3 /tmp/script.py

Notes

The provided workaround may not be suitable for all use cases, especially those that rely heavily on inline Python commands. A more permanent solution would involve modifying the OpenClaw detection mechanism to be more nuanced.

Recommendation

Apply workaround: writing Python code to a file and executing it, as this allows for continued use of Python scripts while avoiding the overly broad detection mechanism in OpenClaw 2026.4.1.