Does vulnerability scanning affect agent performance?

Scans run in the background and have minimal impact on agent performance. Scheduling scans during off-peak hours further reduces any potential effect. The scanner does not modify any configuration; it only reads and analyzes.

Can I customize what the scanner checks?

Yes. You can enable or disable specific check categories and adjust severity thresholds. This is useful if certain findings are accepted risks in your environment and you do not want them flagged on every scan.

How often is the vulnerability database updated?

The vulnerability database is updated continuously as new vulnerabilities are discovered and reported. Your scanner automatically uses the latest database on every scan, so you are always checking against current threats.

Security

Vulnerability Scanning: Regular Security Checks

Configure automated vulnerability scans that detect security weaknesses in your OpenClaw agent's configuration, integrations, and dependencies.

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What You Will Get

By the end of this guide, your OpenClaw agent will undergo regular vulnerability scans that detect security weaknesses before they can be exploited. You will receive actionable reports that prioritize issues by severity and guide you through remediation.

Vulnerability scanning is a proactive security practice. Rather than waiting for an incident to reveal a weakness, you systematically check for known vulnerabilities in your configuration, integrations, and dependencies. Regular scanning catches issues introduced by configuration changes, new integrations, and newly discovered vulnerabilities.

You will configure the built-in security scanner, schedule regular scans, interpret scan results, remediate findings, and set up continuous monitoring. The result is a deployment that is regularly validated against known security threats.

Step-by-Step Setup

Follow these steps to set up vulnerability scanning.

Open the Security Scanner

Navigate to the Security tab in your RunTheAgent dashboard and select Vulnerability Scanner. The scanner checks your agent's configuration, installed skills, connected channels, API endpoint security, encryption settings, and access controls against a database of known vulnerabilities and best practices.

Run an Initial Full Scan

Click Run Full Scan to perform a comprehensive security assessment. The first scan establishes a baseline and may take several minutes depending on your agent's complexity. Review the results to understand your current security posture and prioritize the most critical findings.

Review and Prioritize Findings

The scan report categorizes findings by severity: Critical, High, Medium, and Low. Each finding includes a description of the vulnerability, the affected component, and a recommended remediation. Start with Critical and High findings, as these represent the greatest risk.

Remediate Critical Findings

Fix Critical findings immediately. These typically include unencrypted data stores, exposed credentials, or missing authentication on endpoints. Follow the recommended remediation steps for each finding. After fixing, re-scan the specific component to verify the fix.

Schedule Regular Scans

Configure a scan schedule in the scanner settings. Weekly scans are recommended for most deployments. Set the scan to run during off-peak hours to minimize any performance impact. The scanner sends a summary report to your configured notification channel after each scan.

Configure Scan Notifications

Set up notifications for scan results. Configure alerts for new Critical and High findings so you can respond immediately. Summary reports for Medium and Low findings can be delivered by email for weekly review. This tiered approach ensures urgent issues get immediate attention.

Track Remediation Progress

The scanner tracks findings across scans so you can see which issues have been fixed and which remain open. Use the remediation dashboard to assign findings to team members, set due dates, and track progress. A finding that remains open for more than two scan cycles should be escalated.

Tips and Best Practices

Scan After Every Major Change

In addition to scheduled scans, run a scan after installing new skills, adding integrations, or changing security settings. Changes are the most common source of new vulnerabilities.

Do Not Ignore Medium and Low Findings

While Critical and High findings need immediate attention, Medium and Low findings can escalate over time or be chained together by attackers. Schedule a monthly review to address accumulated lower-severity findings.

Compare Scans Over Time

Review the trend of findings across scans. A decreasing count indicates improving security. An increasing count suggests that changes are introducing vulnerabilities faster than they are being fixed.

Include Scanning in Your Change Management

Make vulnerability scanning a required step in your change management process. No major change should go live without a clean scan result or an accepted risk assessment for any open findings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Compliance Frameworks Incident Response Plan Security Monitoring

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