Summary

~900+ Clawdbot instances are currently exposed on the internet (visible on Shodan port 18789) without any authentication. This allows anyone to:

• Access API keys and credentials
• Execute shell commands
• Control the browser
• Read emails/calendar
• Send messages on behalf of the user

Current State

The gateway binds to 127.0.0.1 by default (safe), but users who:

• Change bind to 0.0.0.0
• Use Docker with -p 18789:18789
• Run behind a misconfigured reverse proxy

...are fully exposed without any protection.

Proposed Solution

1. Mandatory auth token on all gateway API endpoints (except health check)

   • Generate a random token on first run
   • Store in config
   • Require Authorization: Bearer <token> header

2. Warning on startup if binding to 0.0.0.0 without auth token configured

3. Documentation update with security best practices:

   • Cloudflare Tunnel setup
   • Reverse proxy with auth
   • Firewall rules

Workarounds (for affected users now)

# Block port immediately
sudo ufw deny 18789

# Or use Cloudflare Tunnel
cloudflared tunnel --url http://localhost:18789

References

• Shodan search: https://www.shodan.io/search?query=port:18789
• Cloudflare Tunnel docs: https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/connections/connect-networks/

Happy to contribute a PR if this approach is approved.