OpenClaw Security Checklist for Production
Deploying OpenClaw to production without proper security is dangerous. This checklist covers six critical security domains: network security, container hardening, authentication and access control, skill security, monitoring and alerting, and backup and recovery. Follow every item to ensure your OpenClaw deployment is production-ready and resilient against attacks, data loss, and service disruptions.
Why This Is Hard to Do Yourself
These are the common pitfalls that trip people up.
No official hardening guide
OpenClaw documentation focuses on features, not security. Production hardening requires experience and research.
Many attack surfaces
Network, containers, skills, prompts, API keys — each requires different security controls.
Time pressure
Teams rush to production without security because "we'll fix it later". Later never comes.
Unknown unknowns
You don't know what you're missing until you get breached. Checklists help surface blind spots.
Step-by-Step Guide
Network Security
Lock down network access and exposure.
# Checklist:
☐ OpenClaw is NOT bound to 0.0.0.0 on public internet
☐ Use Tailscale, VPN, or private network instead
☐ Firewall rules restrict ports (only 443/80 if using reverse proxy)
☐ TLS/HTTPS enabled with valid certificates
☐ Reverse proxy configured (nginx/Caddy) with rate limiting
☐ DDoS protection enabled (Cloudflare, AWS Shield, etc.)
☐ Network segmentation: OpenClaw in isolated subnetContainer Security
Harden Docker containers and images.
# Checklist:
☐ Running as non-root user (UID 1000, not 0)
☐ Read-only filesystem enabled
☐ Resource limits configured (CPU, memory)
☐ Health checks enabled
☐ Capabilities dropped (cap_drop: ALL)
☐ Secrets managed via Docker secrets or external vault
☐ Image scanning enabled (Trivy, Snyk, etc.)
☐ Base image is minimal (Alpine or distroless)
☐ No sensitive data in image layersWarning: Skipping container security is one of the most common production mistakes. Containers are not inherently secure — they need explicit hardening.
Authentication & Access Control
Enforce strong auth and least-privilege access.
# Checklist:
☐ Gateway authentication enabled (API keys, OAuth, JWT)
☐ API keys rotated regularly (90 days max)
☐ Rate limiting configured per user/key
☐ IP allowlisting for admin endpoints
☐ No default/demo credentials in production
☐ Audit logging for all auth events
☐ MFA required for admin access
☐ Service accounts use unique credentials
☐ Secrets never in environment variables (use vault)Skill Security
Audit and control ClawHub skills.
# Checklist:
☐ All skills manually audited before installation
☐ Skill permissions reviewed (filesystem, network, shell)
☐ Skills pinned to specific versions (no auto-updates)
☐ Unused skills removed
☐ Skill update policy documented
☐ Skills run in isolated environments when possible
☐ Prompt injection defenses configured
☐ Output filtering prevents credential leakageMonitoring & Alerting
Detect attacks and anomalies in real-time.
# Checklist:
☐ Centralized logging (Elasticsearch, Loki, etc.)
☐ Failed authentication attempts logged and alerted
☐ Unusual API usage patterns monitored
☐ Container health metrics tracked
☐ Security alerts sent to on-call team
☐ Disk space monitoring (prevents log-based DoS)
☐ Network traffic anomalies detected
☐ Prompt injection attempts logged
☐ API key usage tracked per keyBackup & Disaster Recovery
Ensure business continuity and data resilience.
# Checklist:
☐ Daily automated backups of data volumes
☐ Backups stored off-site (S3, GCS, etc.)
☐ Backup restoration tested quarterly
☐ Configuration as code (docker-compose, IaC)
☐ RTO (Recovery Time Objective) defined
☐ RPO (Recovery Point Objective) defined
☐ Incident response playbook documented
☐ Disaster recovery tested in stagingWarning: Most teams skip disaster recovery testing until a real disaster happens. Test your backups regularly — untested backups are useless.
Too Many Boxes to Check?
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