Description

After upgrading from v2026.4.2 to v2026.4.5, the gateway process immediately consumes 100%+ CPU and never settles. Rolling back to v2026.4.2 resolves the issue — CPU drops to ~1% after startup.

Environment

• Host: Ubuntu 24.04, x86_64, HP Pavilion laptop (NAS)
• Docker: containerized deployment (self-hosted, openclaw:local image built from source)
• Config: 7 Telegram bot accounts, sandbox.mode: "off", tools.exec: {host: "gateway", security: "full", ask: "off"}
• Previous version: v2026.4.2 (working fine)

Steps to Reproduce

1. Running v2026.4.2 normally (CPU ~1% idle)
2. git checkout v2026.4.5 && docker build -t openclaw:local . && docker compose up -d
3. Gateway starts, CPU immediately hits 100%+ and stays there indefinitely
4. docker logs shows repeated legacy config warnings in a loop:

channels.telegram: channels.telegram.streamMode is legacy; use channels.telegram.streaming instead. Run "openclaw doctor --fix".
tools.web.search: tools.web.search provider-owned config moved to plugins.entries.<plugin>.config.webSearch. Run "openclaw doctor --fix".

5. Manually fixing the config keys (removing streamMode, migrating tools.web.search to plugins.entries.brave.config.webSearch) did NOT resolve the CPU issue
6. openclaw doctor --fix was killed by OOM (exit 137) — unable to run under high CPU load
7. Rolling back to v2026.4.2 and restarting: CPU returns to normal (~1%)

Top output during v2026.4.5

PID USER   PR NI  VIRT     RES    SHR S %CPU %MEM  COMMAND
xxx leo    20  0  10.0g  766104  59716 R 136  4.7   openclaw-gateway

Expected Behavior

Gateway should start normally with legacy config keys (warning is fine, but should not cause infinite loop / 100% CPU).

Workaround

Rolled back to v2026.4.2.

Additional Context

• The config has streamMode: "block" (legacy) and tools.web.search (legacy) from pre-v2026.4.5
• Even after manually migrating these keys, the CPU spike persisted, suggesting the issue may not be solely config-related
• The v2026.4.2 gateway handles the same config file without issues