hostguard_skill

Overview

This skill inspects a local OpenClaw installation to determine whether the service is listening beyond localhost and whether it is running with elevated privileges. It reports conservative, actionable findings and can offer a safe, reversible lockdown fix when a host entry exists in a known env file.

How this skill works

The skill reads environment files in priority order (.env.local, .env.development, .env.production, .env) and prefers OPENCLAW_HOST/OPENCLAW_PORT over HOST/PORT. It defaults to port 18789 if no valid port is found, checks for an active listener on the resolved host/port, classifies the binding (loopback, wildcard, private, public, or inconclusive), and detects elevated privileges on the running process. Reporting separates configured state from runtime observations and uses cautious phrasing like "may be reachable beyond localhost."

When to use it

• Audit a local development or staging machine running OpenClaw for potential network exposure.
• Verify whether a running OpenClaw process is bound only to loopback before exposing a host to a network.
• Check for accidental elevated privileges that warrant further investigation.
• Prepare for a security-hardening change by locating the env file that controls host binding.
• Confirm whether a reported vulnerability might be due to configuration vs runtime binding.

Best practices

• Treat '0.0.0.0' or '::' as potential exposure and verify external reachability before claiming internet exposure.
• Prefer editing the env file that actually contains the host setting; do not add host entries automatically.
• Create a .bak file next to any env file before making the conservative change to 127.0.0.1.
• Do not modify files without explicit user permission; present fixes and allow the user to approve changes.
• Use the tool regularly during development and after deployment changes to catch regressions early.

Example use cases

• Scan a developer workstation to confirm OpenClaw is not unintentionally accessible from the LAN.
• During onboarding, locate which env file sets OPENCLAW_HOST so you can apply a lockdown policy.
• Post-deployment check to ensure a container or VM isn’t exposing OpenClaw on a public interface.
• Quick verification after privilege escalation alerts to determine whether the OpenClaw process runs as root or admin.
• Create a minimal remediation plan: back up env, change host to 127.0.0.1, and instruct on restart steps.