fix: decouple owner display secret from gateway auth token

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai
 - Security/Exec: in non-default setups that manually add `sort` to `tools.exec.safeBins`, block `sort --compress-program` so allowlist-mode safe-bin checks cannot bypass approval. Thanks @tdjackey for reporting.
 - Security/Exec approvals: when users choose `allow-always` for shell-wrapper commands (for example `/bin/zsh -lc ...`), persist allowlist patterns for the inner executable(s) instead of the wrapper shell binary, preventing accidental broad shell allowlisting in moderate mode. (#23276) Thanks @xrom2863.
 - Security/macOS app beta: enforce path-only `system.run` allowlist matching (drop basename matches like `echo`), migrate legacy basename entries to last resolved paths when available, and harden shell-chain handling to fail closed on unsafe parse/control syntax (including quoted command substitution/backticks). This is an optional allowlist-mode feature; default installs remain deny-by-default. This ships in the next npm release. Thanks @tdjackey for reporting.
+- Security/Agents: auto-generate and persist a dedicated `commands.ownerDisplaySecret` when `commands.ownerDisplay=hash`, remove gateway token fallback from owner-ID prompt hashing across CLI and embedded agent runners, and centralize owner-display secret resolution in one shared helper. This ships in the next npm release. Thanks @aether-ai-agent for reporting.
 - Security/SSRF: expand IPv4 fetch guard blocking to include RFC special-use/non-global ranges (including benchmarking, TEST-NET, multicast, and reserved/broadcast blocks), and centralize range checks into a single CIDR policy table to reduce classifier drift.
 - Security/Archive: block zip symlink escapes during archive extraction.
 - Security/Media sandbox: keep tmp media allowance for absolute tmp paths only and enforce symlink-escape checks before sandbox-validated reads, preventing tmp symlink exfiltration and relative `../` sandbox escapes when sandboxes live under tmp. (#17892) Thanks @dashed.

src/agents/cli-runner/helpers.ts

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import { buildTtsSystemPromptHint } from "../../tts/tts.js";
 import { isRecord } from "../../utils.js";
 import { buildModelAliasLines } from "../model-alias-lines.js";
 import { resolveDefaultModelForAgent } from "../model-selection.js";
+import { resolveOwnerDisplaySetting } from "../owner-display.js";
 import type { EmbeddedContextFile } from "../pi-embedded-helpers.js";
 import { detectRuntimeShell } from "../shell-utils.js";
 import { buildSystemPromptParams } from "../system-prompt-params.js";
@@ -81,16 +82,14 @@ export function buildSystemPrompt(params: {
     },
   });
   const ttsHint = params.config ? buildTtsSystemPromptHint(params.config) : undefined;
+  const ownerDisplay = resolveOwnerDisplaySetting(params.config);
   return buildAgentSystemPrompt({
     workspaceDir: params.workspaceDir,
     defaultThinkLevel: params.defaultThinkLevel,
     extraSystemPrompt: params.extraSystemPrompt,
     ownerNumbers: params.ownerNumbers,
-    ownerDisplay: params.config?.commands?.ownerDisplay,
-    ownerDisplaySecret:
-      params.config?.commands?.ownerDisplaySecret ??
-      params.config?.gateway?.auth?.token ??
-      params.config?.gateway?.remote?.token,
+    ownerDisplay: ownerDisplay.ownerDisplay,
+    ownerDisplaySecret: ownerDisplay.ownerDisplaySecret,
     reasoningTagHint: false,
     heartbeatPrompt: params.heartbeatPrompt,
     docsPath: params.docsPath,

src/agents/owner-display.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import type { OpenClawConfig } from "../config/config.js";
+import { ensureOwnerDisplaySecret, resolveOwnerDisplaySetting } from "./owner-display.js";
+
+describe("resolveOwnerDisplaySetting", () => {
+  it("returns keyed hash settings when hash mode has an explicit secret", () => {
+    const cfg = {
+      commands: {
+        ownerDisplay: "hash",
+        ownerDisplaySecret: "  owner-secret  ",
+      },
+    } as OpenClawConfig;
+
+    expect(resolveOwnerDisplaySetting(cfg)).toEqual({
+      ownerDisplay: "hash",
+      ownerDisplaySecret: "owner-secret",
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("does not fall back to gateway tokens when hash secret is missing", () => {
+    const cfg = {
+      commands: {
+        ownerDisplay: "hash",
+      },
+      gateway: {
+        auth: { token: "gateway-auth-token" },
+        remote: { token: "gateway-remote-token" },
+      },
+    } as OpenClawConfig;
+
+    expect(resolveOwnerDisplaySetting(cfg)).toEqual({
+      ownerDisplay: "hash",
+      ownerDisplaySecret: undefined,
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("disables owner hash secret when display mode is raw", () => {
+    const cfg = {
+      commands: {
+        ownerDisplay: "raw",
+        ownerDisplaySecret: "owner-secret",
+      },
+    } as OpenClawConfig;
+
+    expect(resolveOwnerDisplaySetting(cfg)).toEqual({
+      ownerDisplay: "raw",
+      ownerDisplaySecret: undefined,
+    });
+  });
+});
+
+describe("ensureOwnerDisplaySecret", () => {
+  it("generates a dedicated secret when hash mode is enabled without one", () => {
+    const cfg = {
+      commands: {
+        ownerDisplay: "hash",
+      },
+    } as OpenClawConfig;
+
+    const result = ensureOwnerDisplaySecret(cfg, () => "generated-owner-secret");
+    expect(result.generatedSecret).toBe("generated-owner-secret");
+    expect(result.config.commands?.ownerDisplaySecret).toBe("generated-owner-secret");
+    expect(result.config.commands?.ownerDisplay).toBe("hash");
+  });
+
+  it("does nothing when a hash secret is already configured", () => {
+    const cfg = {
+      commands: {
+        ownerDisplay: "hash",
+        ownerDisplaySecret: "existing-owner-secret",
+      },
+    } as OpenClawConfig;
+
+    const result = ensureOwnerDisplaySecret(cfg, () => "generated-owner-secret");
+    expect(result.generatedSecret).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(result.config).toEqual(cfg);
+  });
+});

src/agents/owner-display.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+import crypto from "node:crypto";
+import type { OpenClawConfig } from "../config/config.js";
+
+export type OwnerDisplaySetting = {
+  ownerDisplay?: "raw" | "hash";
+  ownerDisplaySecret?: string;
+};
+
+export type OwnerDisplaySecretResolution = {
+  config: OpenClawConfig;
+  generatedSecret?: string;
+};
+
+function trimToUndefined(value?: string): string | undefined {
+  const trimmed = value?.trim();
+  return trimmed ? trimmed : undefined;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Resolve owner display settings for prompt rendering.
+ * Keep auth secrets decoupled from owner hash secrets.
+ */
+export function resolveOwnerDisplaySetting(config?: OpenClawConfig): OwnerDisplaySetting {
+  const ownerDisplay = config?.commands?.ownerDisplay;
+  if (ownerDisplay !== "hash") {
+    return { ownerDisplay, ownerDisplaySecret: undefined };
+  }
+  return {
+    ownerDisplay: "hash",
+    ownerDisplaySecret: trimToUndefined(config?.commands?.ownerDisplaySecret),
+  };
+}
+
+/**
+ * Ensure hash mode has a dedicated secret.
+ * Returns updated config and generated secret when autofill was needed.
+ */
+export function ensureOwnerDisplaySecret(
+  config: OpenClawConfig,
+  generateSecret: () => string = () => crypto.randomBytes(32).toString("hex"),
+): OwnerDisplaySecretResolution {
+  const settings = resolveOwnerDisplaySetting(config);
+  if (settings.ownerDisplay !== "hash" || settings.ownerDisplaySecret) {
+    return { config };
+  }
+  const generatedSecret = generateSecret();
+  return {
+    config: {
+      ...config,
+      commands: {
+        ...config.commands,
+        ownerDisplay: "hash",
+        ownerDisplaySecret: generatedSecret,
+      },
+    },
+    generatedSecret,
+  };
+}

src/agents/pi-embedded-runner/compact.ts

@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ import { DEFAULT_MODEL, DEFAULT_PROVIDER } from "../defaults.js";
 import { resolveOpenClawDocsPath } from "../docs-path.js";
 import { getApiKeyForModel, resolveModelAuthMode } from "../model-auth.js";
 import { ensureOpenClawModelsJson } from "../models-config.js";
+import { resolveOwnerDisplaySetting } from "../owner-display.js";
 import {
   ensureSessionHeader,
   validateAnthropicTurns,
@@ -480,17 +481,15 @@ export async function compactEmbeddedPiSessionDirect(
       moduleUrl: import.meta.url,
     });
     const ttsHint = params.config ? buildTtsSystemPromptHint(params.config) : undefined;
+    const ownerDisplay = resolveOwnerDisplaySetting(params.config);
     const appendPrompt = buildEmbeddedSystemPrompt({
       workspaceDir: effectiveWorkspace,
       defaultThinkLevel: params.thinkLevel,
       reasoningLevel: params.reasoningLevel ?? "off",
       extraSystemPrompt: params.extraSystemPrompt,
       ownerNumbers: params.ownerNumbers,
-      ownerDisplay: params.config?.commands?.ownerDisplay,
-      ownerDisplaySecret:
-        params.config?.commands?.ownerDisplaySecret ??
-        params.config?.gateway?.auth?.token ??
-        params.config?.gateway?.remote?.token,
+      ownerDisplay: ownerDisplay.ownerDisplay,
+      ownerDisplaySecret: ownerDisplay.ownerDisplaySecret,
       reasoningTagHint,
       heartbeatPrompt: isDefaultAgent
         ? resolveHeartbeatPrompt(params.config?.agents?.defaults?.heartbeat?.prompt)

src/agents/pi-embedded-runner/run/attempt.ts

@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ import { resolveImageSanitizationLimits } from "../../image-sanitization.js";
 import { resolveModelAuthMode } from "../../model-auth.js";
 import { resolveDefaultModelForAgent } from "../../model-selection.js";
 import { createOllamaStreamFn, OLLAMA_NATIVE_BASE_URL } from "../../ollama-stream.js";
+import { resolveOwnerDisplaySetting } from "../../owner-display.js";
 import {
   isCloudCodeAssistFormatError,
   resolveBootstrapMaxChars,
@@ -505,6 +506,7 @@ export async function runEmbeddedAttempt(
       moduleUrl: import.meta.url,
     });
     const ttsHint = params.config ? buildTtsSystemPromptHint(params.config) : undefined;
+    const ownerDisplay = resolveOwnerDisplaySetting(params.config);
 
     const appendPrompt = buildEmbeddedSystemPrompt({
       workspaceDir: effectiveWorkspace,
@@ -512,11 +514,8 @@ export async function runEmbeddedAttempt(
       reasoningLevel: params.reasoningLevel ?? "off",
       extraSystemPrompt: params.extraSystemPrompt,
       ownerNumbers: params.ownerNumbers,
-      ownerDisplay: params.config?.commands?.ownerDisplay,
-      ownerDisplaySecret:
-        params.config?.commands?.ownerDisplaySecret ??
-        params.config?.gateway?.auth?.token ??
-        params.config?.gateway?.remote?.token,
+      ownerDisplay: ownerDisplay.ownerDisplay,
+      ownerDisplaySecret: ownerDisplay.ownerDisplaySecret,
       reasoningTagHint,
       heartbeatPrompt: isDefaultAgent
         ? resolveHeartbeatPrompt(params.config?.agents?.defaults?.heartbeat?.prompt)

src/config/io.owner-display-secret.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+import fs from "node:fs/promises";
+import path from "node:path";
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { withTempHome } from "./home-env.test-harness.js";
+import { createConfigIO } from "./io.js";
+
+async function waitForPersistedSecret(configPath: string, expectedSecret: string): Promise<void> {
+  const deadline = Date.now() + 3_000;
+  while (Date.now() < deadline) {
+    const raw = await fs.readFile(configPath, "utf-8");
+    const parsed = JSON.parse(raw) as {
+      commands?: { ownerDisplaySecret?: string };
+    };
+    if (parsed.commands?.ownerDisplaySecret === expectedSecret) {
+      return;
+    }
+    await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 25));
+  }
+  throw new Error("timed out waiting for ownerDisplaySecret persistence");
+}
+
+describe("config io owner display secret autofill", () => {
+  it("auto-generates and persists commands.ownerDisplaySecret in hash mode", async () => {
+    await withTempHome("openclaw-owner-display-secret-", async (home) => {
+      const configPath = path.join(home, ".openclaw", "openclaw.json");
+      await fs.mkdir(path.dirname(configPath), { recursive: true });
+      await fs.writeFile(
+        configPath,
+        JSON.stringify({ commands: { ownerDisplay: "hash" } }, null, 2),
+        "utf-8",
+      );
+
+      const io = createConfigIO({
+        env: {} as NodeJS.ProcessEnv,
+        homedir: () => home,
+        logger: { warn: () => {}, error: () => {} },
+      });
+      const cfg = io.loadConfig();
+      const secret = cfg.commands?.ownerDisplaySecret;
+
+      expect(secret).toMatch(/^[a-f0-9]{64}$/);
+      await waitForPersistedSecret(configPath, secret ?? "");
+
+      const cfgReloaded = io.loadConfig();
+      expect(cfgReloaded.commands?.ownerDisplaySecret).toBe(secret);
+    });
+  });
+});

src/config/io.ts

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import os from "node:os";
 import path from "node:path";
 import { isDeepStrictEqual } from "node:util";
 import JSON5 from "json5";
+import { ensureOwnerDisplaySecret } from "../agents/owner-display.js";
 import { loadDotEnv } from "../infra/dotenv.js";
 import { resolveRequiredHomeDir } from "../infra/home-dir.js";
 import {
@@ -696,7 +697,42 @@ export function createConfigIO(overrides: ConfigIoDeps = {}) {
         });
       }
 
-      return applyConfigOverrides(cfg);
+      const pendingSecret = AUTO_OWNER_DISPLAY_SECRET_BY_PATH.get(configPath);
+      const ownerDisplaySecretResolution = ensureOwnerDisplaySecret(
+        cfg,
+        () => pendingSecret ?? crypto.randomBytes(32).toString("hex"),
+      );
+      const cfgWithOwnerDisplaySecret = ownerDisplaySecretResolution.config;
+      if (ownerDisplaySecretResolution.generatedSecret) {
+        AUTO_OWNER_DISPLAY_SECRET_BY_PATH.set(
+          configPath,
+          ownerDisplaySecretResolution.generatedSecret,
+        );
+        if (!AUTO_OWNER_DISPLAY_SECRET_PERSIST_IN_FLIGHT.has(configPath)) {
+          AUTO_OWNER_DISPLAY_SECRET_PERSIST_IN_FLIGHT.add(configPath);
+          void writeConfigFile(cfgWithOwnerDisplaySecret, { expectedConfigPath: configPath })
+            .then(() => {
+              AUTO_OWNER_DISPLAY_SECRET_BY_PATH.delete(configPath);
+              AUTO_OWNER_DISPLAY_SECRET_PERSIST_WARNED.delete(configPath);
+            })
+            .catch((err) => {
+              if (!AUTO_OWNER_DISPLAY_SECRET_PERSIST_WARNED.has(configPath)) {
+                AUTO_OWNER_DISPLAY_SECRET_PERSIST_WARNED.add(configPath);
+                deps.logger.warn(
+                  `Failed to persist auto-generated commands.ownerDisplaySecret at ${configPath}: ${String(err)}`,
+                );
+              }
+            })
+            .finally(() => {
+              AUTO_OWNER_DISPLAY_SECRET_PERSIST_IN_FLIGHT.delete(configPath);
+            });
+        }
+      } else {
+        AUTO_OWNER_DISPLAY_SECRET_BY_PATH.delete(configPath);
+        AUTO_OWNER_DISPLAY_SECRET_PERSIST_WARNED.delete(configPath);
+      }
+
+      return applyConfigOverrides(cfgWithOwnerDisplaySecret);
     } catch (err) {
       if (err instanceof DuplicateAgentDirError) {
         deps.logger.error(err.message);
@@ -1149,6 +1185,9 @@ export function createConfigIO(overrides: ConfigIoDeps = {}) {
 // module scope. `OPENCLAW_CONFIG_PATH` (and friends) are expected to work even
 // when set after the module has been imported (tests, one-off scripts, etc.).
 const DEFAULT_CONFIG_CACHE_MS = 200;
+const AUTO_OWNER_DISPLAY_SECRET_BY_PATH = new Map<string, string>();
+const AUTO_OWNER_DISPLAY_SECRET_PERSIST_IN_FLIGHT = new Set<string>();
+const AUTO_OWNER_DISPLAY_SECRET_PERSIST_WARNED = new Set<string>();
 let configCache: {
   configPath: string;
   expiresAt: number;