12-Point Security Checklist

The same checklist we use for every OpenClawPro installation.

Security research (Maor Dayan, early 2026) found 42,665 OpenClaw instances exposed on the internet, and of those actively verified, roughly 93% showed authentication-bypass conditions. This checklist ensures yours is not one of them.

SSH Key-Only Authentication

Disable password login entirely. Use ED25519 keys for maximum security.

sudo sed -i "s/PasswordAuthentication yes/PasswordAuthentication no/" /etc/ssh/sshd_config && sudo systemctl restart sshd

fail2ban Configuration

Auto-ban IPs after 3 failed SSH attempts. 24-hour ban duration.

sudo apt install fail2ban -y && sudo systemctl enable fail2ban

UFW Firewall Rules

Allow only SSH (22), HTTP (80), HTTPS (443). Block everything else.

sudo ufw default deny incoming && sudo ufw allow 22,80,443/tcp && sudo ufw enable

Docker/Podman Sandboxing

Run OpenClaw in an isolated container with CPU and memory limits.

docker run --memory="2g" --cpus="2" --security-opt=no-new-privileges openclaw/openclaw

Reverse Proxy with TLS

Nginx or Caddy with Let's Encrypt auto-renewal. Never expose ports directly.

sudo apt install caddy -y && caddy reverse-proxy --from yourdomain.com --to localhost:3000

Environment Variable Encryption

Store API keys and tokens encrypted. Never commit .env files to git.

chmod 600 .env && chown root:root .env

Network Isolation

Separate Docker networks for OpenClaw, database, and reverse proxy.

docker network create --driver bridge openclaw-net

Log Monitoring

Centralized logging with threshold alerts. Monitor failed auth and unusual API usage.

journalctl -u openclaw -f --since "1 hour ago"

Automatic Security Updates

Enable unattended-upgrades for the OS. Schedule OpenClaw updates weekly.

sudo apt install unattended-upgrades -y && sudo dpkg-reconfigure -plow unattended-upgrades

Vulnerability Scanning

Weekly Trivy scans on Docker images. Alert on critical and high vulnerabilities.

trivy image openclaw/openclaw:latest

Backup Encryption

Daily encrypted backups of data and configuration. Offsite storage with retention policy.

tar czf - /opt/openclaw/data | gpg --symmetric --cipher-algo AES256 > backup.tar.gz.gpg

Access Control Lists

Restrict OpenClaw admin access by IP whitelist. Use VPN for remote management.

sudo ufw allow from YOUR_IP to any port 8080

Want Us to Apply All 12 Steps for You?

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