Viral AI Agent OpenClaw Deemed Unusable Due to Critical Security Flaws That Expose User Credentials

Feb 16, 2026
TechCrunch
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Summary

OpenClaw, a viral open-source AI agent with 190,000 GitHub stars, faces critical security vulnerabilities that expose user credentials through prompt injection attacks, making the automation tool currently unusable despite its popularity and promises of unprecedented productivity.

Key Points

  • OpenClaw, an open-source AI agent project that gained viral popularity with over 190,000 GitHub stars, faces significant cybersecurity vulnerabilities that experts say make it currently unusable for most users
  • Security researchers discover that AI agents using OpenClaw are highly susceptible to prompt injection attacks, where malicious actors can trick agents into revealing credentials or performing unauthorized actions like sending cryptocurrency
  • Despite OpenClaw's promise of unprecedented automation and productivity through natural language control across messaging platforms, AI experts view it as merely an iterative improvement rather than groundbreaking technology, with critical thinking limitations that may never be overcome

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