openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix [Bug]: Telegram DM exec requires approval despite allowlist + ask:off — works in webchat, not in Telegram

Bug type

Regression (worked before, now fails)

Beta release blocker

No

Summary

In OpenClaw 2026.5.28, Telegram DM requires exec approval for allowlisted binaries (gog tasks add) despite tools.exec.ask: off, security: allowlist, and the binary in ~/.openclaw/exec-approvals.json allowlist — the same commands from webchat execute without approval.

Steps to reproduce

1. Set tools.exec.security: allowlist, tools.exec.ask: off in config
2. Add /usr/local/bin/gog to host allowlist: openclaw approvals allowlist add /usr/local/bin/gog
3. Set host approvals defaults: security: allowlist, ask: off, askFallback: allowlist
4. Restart gateway
5. From webchat: run gog tasks add "<tasklistId>" --title "test" → executes without approval ✅
6. From Telegram DM (same user, main session): send "todo test" → agent runs gog tasks add → approval prompt appears ❌

Expected behavior

Telegram DM exec should respect the same policy as webchat. With security: allowlist, ask: off and gog allowlisted, gog tasks add from Telegram should execute without approval — consistent with webchat behavior and with earlier OpenClaw versions where this setup worked.

Actual behavior

Telegram DM always generates exec.approval.waitDecision for gog invocations. The approval prompt appears in webchat Control UI, not on Telegram. Gateway log shows: [exec] ignoring unprofiled safeBins entries (gog) followed by [ws] ⇄ res ✓ exec.approval.waitDecision for every Telegram-triggered exec.

OpenClaw version

2026.5.28 (e932160)

Operating system

RHEL EL10, kernel 6.12.0-211.18.1.el10_2.x86_64

Install method

npm global

Model

deepseek/deepseek-v4-pro

Provider / routing chain

openclaw → deepseek

Additional provider/model setup details

Default model is deepseek-v4-pro via deepseek API key (env: DEEPSEEK_API_KEY). No routing middleware, no gateway proxy. Config: models.providers.deepseek.apiKey: env:DEEPSEEK_API_KEY.

Logs, screenshots, and evidence

# Gateway log during Telegram exec:
[exec] ignoring unprofiled safeBins entries (gog); use allowlist or define tools.exec.safeBinProfiles.<bin>
[ws] ⇄ res ✓ exec.approval.waitDecision 3410ms conn=fb8a2892…2e17 id=28cf1c1d…e342

# Effective exec policy (shown by openclaw exec-policy show):
security=allowlist, ask=off

# Webchat gog tasks add — works:
$ gog tasks add "MTE4ODI2MDk1MDI4NDA5Njg1NTY6MDow" --title "TEST" --json
{"task":{"id":"Nno0UWdrS3Bkb3ctRUJKcQ","title":"TEST",...}}

# Telegram same command — requires approval, shows in webchat UI as:
"Exec approval needed — expires in 29m"

Impact and severity

• Affected: Telegram DM user (single-owner bot setup)
• Severity: High — blocks routine tasks (Google Tasks add/update) from Telegram
• Frequency: 100% — every Telegram-triggered exec requires approval
• Consequence: User must be at webchat Control UI to approve each command; "roaming assistant" workflow broken

Additional information

This setup worked in earlier OpenClaw versions (pre-2026.3.x) where Telegram DM exec honored allowlist + ask:off. Possibly related to #45464 (Telegram DM exec parity broken, 2026.3.12) and #68739 (execApprovals.enabled=false ignored, 2026.4.15). channels.telegram.execApprovals.enabled was set to false with no change in behavior.