What a Secure OpenClaw Deployment Actually Requires

What a Secure OpenClaw Deployment Actually Requires

You've got OpenClaw running locally. You want to put it in production.

Here's what security actually requires—and an honest assessment of the work involved.

The Default Configuration Problem

Out of the box, OpenClaw is configured for local development:

• Gateway binds to 0.0.0.0 (all interfaces)
• Localhost requests are trusted (no auth required)
• Control UI is enabled
• Credentials stored in plaintext at ~/.openclaw/credentials/
• No audit logging
• No network egress restrictions
• No approval workflows

This is why security researcher Maor Dayan found 42,665 exposed instances—93.4% vulnerable. The defaults are convenient for development. They're dangerous for production.

Level 1: Network Security

What needs to change:

1. Bind to loopback only — Change gateway from 0.0.0.0 to 127.0.0.1
2. Disable mDNS advertising — Prevent local network discovery
3. Disable Control UI — Or restrict to authenticated access only
4. Configure reverse proxy — nginx, Caddy, or Traefik with proper header forwarding

The gotcha: Even with a reverse proxy, OpenClaw trusts localhost by default. You need to configure token authentication, not just rely on the proxy.

Estimated time: 4-8 hours to configure and test properly

Level 2: Credential Security

What needs to change:

1. Encrypt credentials at rest — Don't store API keys in plaintext
2. Inject at runtime — Credentials shouldn't exist on disk in readable form
3. Rotation policy — Plan for regular key rotation
4. Access logging — Know when credentials are accessed

The gotcha: OpenClaw expects credentials in a specific location. You need to either modify this behavior or build a wrapper that handles encryption/decryption.

Estimated time: 8-15 hours to implement properly

Level 3: Audit Logging

What needs to change:

1. Log all agent actions — Not just HTTP requests, but what the agent actually did
2. Make logs searchable — "What did the agent do last Tuesday?"
3. Enable export — Security teams need CSV/JSON for reviews
4. Set retention policy — Enterprise typically wants 90-365 days

The gotcha: OpenClaw doesn't have built-in comprehensive logging. You need to intercept actions at the right layer, which means understanding the codebase.

Estimated time: 15-25 hours to build something usable

Level 4: Network Egress Control

What needs to change:

1. Proxy all outbound requests — Squid or similar
2. Maintain domain allowlist — Only approved APIs reachable
3. Log all egress attempts — Even blocked ones
4. Handle edge cases — WebSockets, streaming responses

The gotcha: Some integrations break when proxied. Testing all your tools through the proxy is time-consuming.

Estimated time: 10-20 hours depending on integrations

Level 5: Approval Workflows

What needs to change:

1. Identify high-risk actions — File deletions, shell commands, bulk operations
2. Build approval UI — Dashboard or Slack integration
3. Handle timeouts — What happens if no one approves?
4. Manage concurrent requests — Queue or reject?

The gotcha: This is essentially building a workflow engine. Edge cases multiply quickly.

Estimated time: 20-40 hours for a robust implementation

The Honest Assessment

Plus ongoing maintenance. Updates break things. Integrations change. Security requirements evolve.

The Trade-off Calculation

If you build it yourself:

• Full control over implementation
• No external dependencies
• Time investment: 60-100+ hours
• Ongoing maintenance burden
• Risk of gaps you don't know about

If you use a managed solution:

• Less control over specifics
• External dependency
• Time investment: ~1 hour setup
• Maintenance handled for you
• Benefit from security expertise you don't have

What Clawctl Handles

The Decision Framework

Build it yourself if:

• You have dedicated security engineering time
• You need custom controls specific to your use case
• You want to learn the security landscape deeply
• You're comfortable with ongoing maintenance

Use a managed solution if:

• Your priority is shipping product, not infrastructure
• You need enterprise-ready security quickly
• You don't have security engineering expertise
• You want to focus maintenance time elsewhere

Whichever You Choose

Don't deploy with defaults.

42,665 instances were found exposed. Don't be the 42,666th.

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