10. Final Security Checklist

TL;DR: Consolidated verification of all implemented security controls. Use this checklist to confirm your installation complies with CIS Benchmark, Tailscale Hardening, and OWASP Agentic Top 10.

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Usage instructions

1. Run each verification in order
2. Mark each control as ✅ (compliant) or ❌ (non-compliant)
3. Don't put OpenClaw in production until all critical controls are ✅
4. Save this completed checklist as configuration evidence

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Automatic verification script

Run this script to automatically verify most controls:

#!/bin/bash
# verify_security.sh - Complete security verification

echo "========================================================"
echo "  SECURITY VERIFICATION - OpenClaw VPS"
echo "  Date: $(date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')"
echo "  Hostname: $(hostname)"
echo "========================================================"
echo ""

PASS=0
FAIL=0
WARN=0

check() {
    local name="$1"
    local result="$2"
    local critical="$3"

    if [ "$result" = "pass" ]; then
        echo "✅ $name"
        ((PASS++))
    elif [ "$result" = "warn" ]; then
        echo "⚠️  $name"
        ((WARN++))
    else
        if [ "$critical" = "critical" ]; then
            echo "❌ [CRITICAL] $name"
        else
            echo "❌ $name"
        fi
        ((FAIL++))
    fi
}

echo "=== 1. OPERATING SYSTEM ==="

# User openclaw exists
if id openclaw &>/dev/null; then
    check "User openclaw exists" "pass"
else
    check "User openclaw exists" "fail" "critical"
fi

# User openclaw is not root
if [ "$(id -u openclaw 2>/dev/null)" != "0" ]; then
    check "User openclaw is not root" "pass"
else
    check "User openclaw is not root" "fail" "critical"
fi

# UFW active
if sudo ufw status | grep -q "Status: active"; then
    check "Firewall UFW active" "pass"
else
    check "Firewall UFW active" "fail" "critical"
fi

# Fail2ban active
if systemctl is-active fail2ban &>/dev/null; then
    check "Fail2ban active" "pass"
else
    check "Fail2ban active" "fail"
fi

# Unattended upgrades
if systemctl is-active unattended-upgrades &>/dev/null; then
    check "Automatic updates" "pass"
else
    check "Automatic updates" "fail"
fi

# Auditd active
if systemctl is-active auditd &>/dev/null; then
    check "Auditd active" "pass"
else
    check "Auditd active" "warn"
fi

# AIDE initialized
if [ -f /var/lib/aide/aide.db ]; then
    check "AIDE initialized" "pass"
else
    check "AIDE initialized" "warn"
fi

echo ""
echo "=== 2. SSH HARDENING (CIS Benchmark) ==="

# PasswordAuthentication no
if sudo sshd -T 2>/dev/null | grep -qi "passwordauthentication no"; then
    check "SSH: PasswordAuthentication no" "pass"
else
    check "SSH: PasswordAuthentication no" "fail" "critical"
fi

# PermitRootLogin no
if sudo sshd -T 2>/dev/null | grep -qi "permitrootlogin no"; then
    check "SSH: PermitRootLogin no" "pass"
else
    check "SSH: PermitRootLogin no" "fail" "critical"
fi

# AllowUsers configured
if sudo sshd -T 2>/dev/null | grep -qi "allowusers"; then
    check "SSH: AllowUsers configured" "pass"
else
    check "SSH: AllowUsers configured" "fail"
fi

# MaxAuthTries <= 4
MAX_AUTH=$(sudo sshd -T 2>/dev/null | grep -i maxauthtries | awk '{print $2}')
if [ -n "$MAX_AUTH" ] && [ "$MAX_AUTH" -le 4 ]; then
    check "SSH: MaxAuthTries <= 4" "pass"
else
    check "SSH: MaxAuthTries <= 4" "fail"
fi

# X11Forwarding no
if sudo sshd -T 2>/dev/null | grep -qi "x11forwarding no"; then
    check "SSH: X11Forwarding no" "pass"
else
    check "SSH: X11Forwarding no" "fail"
fi

# LogLevel VERBOSE
if sudo sshd -T 2>/dev/null | grep -qi "loglevel verbose"; then
    check "SSH: LogLevel VERBOSE" "pass"
else
    check "SSH: LogLevel VERBOSE" "warn"
fi

# Permissions sshd_config
SSHD_PERMS=$(stat -c "%a" /etc/ssh/sshd_config 2>/dev/null)
if [ "$SSHD_PERMS" = "600" ]; then
    check "SSH: sshd_config permissions 600" "pass"
else
    check "SSH: sshd_config permissions 600" "fail"
fi

echo ""
echo "=== 3. TAILSCALE ==="

# Tailscale installed and active
if systemctl is-active tailscaled &>/dev/null; then
    check "Tailscale active" "pass"
else
    check "Tailscale active" "fail" "critical"
fi

# SSH listening only on Tailscale
SSH_LISTEN=$(sudo ss -tlnp | grep sshd | awk '{print $4}')
if echo "$SSH_LISTEN" | grep -q "100\."; then
    check "SSH only on Tailscale interface" "pass"
elif echo "$SSH_LISTEN" | grep -q "0\.0\.0\.0"; then
    check "SSH only on Tailscale interface" "fail" "critical"
else
    check "SSH only on Tailscale interface" "warn"
fi

# Port 22 closed in UFW (no rule for SSH)
if ! sudo ufw status | grep -E "22/tcp.*ALLOW.*Anywhere" | grep -v "100\." &>/dev/null; then
    check "Public port 22 closed" "pass"
else
    check "Public port 22 closed" "fail" "critical"
fi

# Tag vps configured
if tailscale status 2>/dev/null | grep -q "tagged"; then
    check "Tag 'vps' configured" "pass"
else
    check "Tag 'vps' configured" "warn"
fi

echo ""
echo "=== 4. OPENCLAW ==="

# Service active
if systemctl is-active openclaw &>/dev/null; then
    check "OpenClaw service active" "pass"
else
    check "OpenClaw service active" "warn"
fi

# Listening on localhost (not 0.0.0.0)
OPENCLAW_LISTEN=$(sudo ss -tlnp | grep 18789 | awk '{print $4}')
if echo "$OPENCLAW_LISTEN" | grep -q "127\.0\.0\.1"; then
    check "OpenClaw on localhost (127.0.0.1:18789)" "pass"
elif echo "$OPENCLAW_LISTEN" | grep -q "0\.0\.0\.0"; then
    check "OpenClaw on localhost (127.0.0.1:18789)" "fail" "critical"
else
    check "OpenClaw on localhost (127.0.0.1:18789)" "warn"
fi

# /etc/openclaw/env with permissions 600 and owner root
ENV_PERMS=$(stat -c "%a" /etc/openclaw/env 2>/dev/null)
ENV_OWNER=$(stat -c "%U" /etc/openclaw/env 2>/dev/null)
if [ "$ENV_PERMS" = "600" ] && [ "$ENV_OWNER" = "root" ]; then
    check "/etc/openclaw/env permissions 600, owner root" "pass"
elif [ "$ENV_PERMS" = "600" ]; then
    check "/etc/openclaw/env owner should be root (is $ENV_OWNER)" "fail" "critical"
else
    check "/etc/openclaw/env permissions 600" "fail" "critical"
fi

# Systemd score < 5
SECURITY_SCORE=$(systemd-analyze security openclaw.service 2>/dev/null | grep "Overall" | grep -oE "[0-9]+\.[0-9]+" | head -1)
if [ -n "$SECURITY_SCORE" ]; then
    # Extract integer part for comparison (no bc dependency)
    SCORE_INT=${SECURITY_SCORE%%.*}
    if [ -n "$SCORE_INT" ] && [ "$SCORE_INT" -lt 5 ]; then
        check "Systemd hardening (score < 5.0): $SECURITY_SCORE" "pass"
    elif [ -n "$SCORE_INT" ] && [ "$SCORE_INT" -ge 5 ]; then
        check "Systemd hardening (score < 5.0): $SECURITY_SCORE" "fail"
    else
        check "Systemd hardening (score parse error)" "warn"
    fi
else
    check "Systemd hardening" "warn"
fi

echo ""
echo "=== 5. OPENCLAW CONFIGURATION ==="

CONFIG_FILE="/home/openclaw/.openclaw/openclaw.json"
if [ ! -f "$CONFIG_FILE" ]; then
    CONFIG_FILE="$HOME/.openclaw/openclaw.json"
fi

if [ -f "$CONFIG_FILE" ]; then
    # Sandbox mode configured (off = dedicated VPS with systemd hardening, all = Docker)
    if grep -q '"sandbox"' "$CONFIG_FILE" && grep -A2 '"sandbox"' "$CONFIG_FILE" | grep -qE '"mode":\s*"(all|off)"'; then
        SANDBOX_MODE=$(grep -A2 '"sandbox"' "$CONFIG_FILE" | grep -oE '"(all|off)"' | tr -d '"')
        check "Sandbox mode configured ($SANDBOX_MODE)" "pass"
    else
        check "Sandbox mode configured" "fail" "critical"
    fi

    # dmPolicy configured
    if grep -q '"dmPolicy":\s*"pairing"' "$CONFIG_FILE" || grep -q '"dmPolicy":\s*"closed"' "$CONFIG_FILE"; then
        check "dmPolicy configured (pairing/closed)" "pass"
    elif grep -q '"dmPolicy":\s*"open"' "$CONFIG_FILE"; then
        check "dmPolicy configured (pairing/closed)" "fail" "critical"
    else
        check "dmPolicy configured (pairing/closed)" "warn"
    fi

    # Gateway on localhost
    if grep -q '"host":\s*"127.0.0.1"' "$CONFIG_FILE"; then
        check "Gateway host = 127.0.0.1" "pass"
    else
        check "Gateway host = 127.0.0.1" "fail" "critical"
    fi

    # Gateway TLS pairing
    if grep -q '"pairing":\s*true' "$CONFIG_FILE"; then
        check "Gateway TLS pairing enabled" "pass"
    else
        check "Gateway TLS pairing enabled" "warn"
    fi
else
    check "File openclaw.json exists" "fail"
fi

# Verify TOOLS.md (tools allowlist)
TOOLS_FILE="/home/openclaw/.openclaw/workspace/TOOLS.md"
if [ ! -f "$TOOLS_FILE" ]; then
    TOOLS_FILE="$HOME/.openclaw/workspace/TOOLS.md"
fi

if [ -f "$TOOLS_FILE" ]; then
    check "TOOLS.md (allowlist) exists" "pass"
else
    check "TOOLS.md (allowlist) exists" "warn"
fi

echo ""
echo "=== 6. MONITORING AND AUDITING ==="

# Audit rules for openclaw
if sudo auditctl -l 2>/dev/null | grep -q "openclaw"; then
    check "Audit rules configured" "pass"
else
    check "Audit rules configured" "warn"
fi

# Monitoring script exists
if [ -x /home/openclaw/openclaw/scripts/monitor_behavior.sh ] || [ -x ~/openclaw/scripts/monitor_behavior.sh ]; then
    check "Monitoring script exists" "pass"
else
    check "Monitoring script exists" "warn"
fi

# Backup script exists
if [ -x /home/openclaw/openclaw/scripts/backup.sh ] || [ -x ~/openclaw/scripts/backup.sh ]; then
    check "Backup script exists" "pass"
else
    check "Backup script exists" "warn"
fi

echo ""
echo "========================================================"
echo "  SUMMARY"
echo "========================================================"
echo "  ✅ Passed: $PASS"
echo "  ⚠️  Warnings: $WARN"
echo "  ❌ Failed: $FAIL"
echo ""

if [ $FAIL -eq 0 ]; then
    echo "  🎉 All critical controls passed"
    exit 0
else
    echo "  ⚠️  There are failed controls that must be corrected"
    exit 1
fi

Save and run:

nano ~/openclaw/scripts/verify_security.sh
chmod +x ~/openclaw/scripts/verify_security.sh
~/openclaw/scripts/verify_security.sh

---

Detailed manual checklist

1. Operating System

#	Control	Verification	Status
1.1	User openclaw created	id openclaw	⬜
1.2	User is not root	id -u openclaw ≠ 0	⬜
1.3	User has sudo	groups openclaw includes sudo	⬜
1.4	UFW active	sudo ufw status = active	⬜
1.5	UFW default deny incoming	sudo ufw status verbose	⬜
1.6	Fail2ban active	systemctl is-active fail2ban	⬜
1.7	Fail2ban protecting SSH	sudo fail2ban-client status sshd	⬜
1.8	Automatic updates	systemctl is-active unattended-upgrades	⬜
1.9	Auditd active	systemctl is-active auditd	⬜
1.10	Audit rules for OpenClaw	sudo auditctl -l \| grep openclaw	⬜
1.11	AIDE initialized	ls /var/lib/aide/aide.db	⬜

2. SSH Hardening (CIS Benchmark 5.2)

#	Control	Verification command	Expected value	Status
2.1	PasswordAuthentication	sudo sshd -T \| grep passwordauthentication	no	⬜
2.2	PermitRootLogin	sudo sshd -T \| grep permitrootlogin	no	⬜
2.3	PermitEmptyPasswords	sudo sshd -T \| grep permitemptypasswords	no	⬜
2.4	MaxAuthTries	sudo sshd -T \| grep maxauthtries	≤ 4	⬜
2.5	X11Forwarding	sudo sshd -T \| grep x11forwarding	no	⬜
2.6	AllowTcpForwarding	sudo sshd -T \| grep allowtcpforwarding	local	⬜
2.7	LogLevel	sudo sshd -T \| grep loglevel	VERBOSE	⬜
2.8	ClientAliveInterval	sudo sshd -T \| grep clientaliveinterval	> 0	⬜
2.9	LoginGraceTime	sudo sshd -T \| grep logingracetime	≤ 60	⬜
2.10	AllowUsers	sudo sshd -T \| grep allowusers	openclaw	⬜
2.11	Banner	sudo sshd -T \| grep banner	/etc/issue.net	⬜
2.12	Secure ciphers	sudo sshd -T \| grep ciphers	No arcfour, 3des	⬜
2.13	Post-quantum KexAlgorithms	sudo sshd -T \| grep kexalgorithms	Includes sntrup761	⬜
2.14	sshd_config permissions	stat -c %a /etc/ssh/sshd_config	600	⬜
2.15	sshd_config owner	stat -c %U:%G /etc/ssh/sshd_config	root:root	⬜

3. Tailscale

#	Control	Verification	Status
3.1	Tailscale installed	tailscale version	⬜
3.2	Tailscaled active	systemctl is-active tailscaled	⬜
3.3	Connected to Tailnet	tailscale status shows devices	⬜
3.4	Tag 'vps' assigned	tailscale status shows tagged	⬜
3.5	ACLs configured (not permit-all)	Verify in Tailscale panel	⬜
3.6	SSH listens only on Tailscale IP	ss -tlnp \| grep sshd =	⬜
3.7	Public port 22 closed	ssh user@PUBLIC_IP fails	⬜
3.8	Tailscale access works	ssh user@TAILSCALE_IP works	⬜
3.9	(Optional) Tailnet Lock active	tailscale lock status	⬜
3.10	(Optional) Webhooks configured	Verify in Tailscale panel	⬜

4. OpenClaw

#	Control	Verification	Status
4.1	Correct directory structure	ls ~/.openclaw/	⬜
4.2	openclaw.json exists	ls ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json	⬜
4.3	env file exists and permissions 600	stat -c %a /etc/openclaw/env = 600	⬜
4.4	env file correct owner	stat -c %U /etc/openclaw/env = root	⬜
4.5	Gateway host = 127.0.0.1	grep host ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json	⬜
4.6	OpenClaw listens localhost:18789	ss -tlnp \| grep 18789 = 127.0.0.1	⬜
4.7	Not listening on 0.0.0.0	ss -tlnp \| grep 18789 ≠ 0.0.0.0	⬜
4.8	systemd service created	systemctl status openclaw	⬜
4.9	Service enabled	systemctl is-enabled openclaw	⬜
4.10	systemd hardening applied	See service file	⬜
4.11	systemd score < 5	systemd-analyze security openclaw	⬜

5. OpenClaw Security (OWASP AA4/AA5)

#	Control	Verification	Status
5.1	openclaw.json exists	ls ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json	⬜
5.2	Sandbox mode = all	grep sandbox ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json	⬜
5.3	dmPolicy = pairing or closed	grep dmPolicy ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json	⬜
5.4	Gateway TLS pairing active	grep tls ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json	⬜
5.5	TOOLS.md (allowlist) exists	ls ~/openclaw/workspace/TOOLS.md	⬜
5.6	SOUL.md (limits) exists	ls ~/openclaw/workspace/SOUL.md	⬜
5.7	No dangerous tools	Review TOOLS.md manually	⬜
5.8	openclaw security audit no errors	openclaw security audit	⬜
5.9	SecretRef configured (no plaintext .env)	openclaw secrets list	⬜
5.10	Update channel = stable	openclaw update --channel	⬜

6. Agent Security (OWASP Agentic)

#	Control	OWASP Reference	Status
6.1	Input validation configured	AA1	⬜
6.2	Output filtering active	AA2	⬜
6.3	Secrets redacted in outputs	AA2	⬜
6.4	Least privilege principle	AA4	⬜
6.5	Skills with allowlist	AA5	⬜
6.6	Human-in-the-loop configured	AA8	⬜
6.7	Complete logging	AA10	⬜
6.8	(Optional) AppArmor profile	AA4	⬜

7. Monitoring and Maintenance

#	Control	Verification	Status
7.1	Monitoring script exists	ls ~/openclaw/scripts/monitor_behavior.sh	⬜
7.2	Backup script exists	ls ~/openclaw/scripts/backup.sh	⬜
7.3	Cron jobs configured	crontab -l	⬜
7.4	Logs rotated	ls /etc/logrotate.d/openclaw	⬜
7.5	Last API key rotation date	cat ~/.openclaw/.last_key_rotation	⬜
7.6	Backup downloaded locally	Verify manually	⬜

---

Standards compliance

CIS Benchmark Ubuntu 24.04 L1

Section	Description	Covered
5.2.1	sshd_config permissions	✅
5.2.2	SSH host key permissions	✅
5.2.4	SSH ciphers	✅
5.2.5	SSH MACs	✅
5.2.6	SSH KEX	✅
5.2.7	SSH banner	✅
5.2.8	SSH LogLevel	✅
5.2.9-23	SSH configuration	✅

Tailscale Security Hardening

Control	Description	Covered
ACLs	Don't use permit-all	✅
Tags	Use tags for segmentation	✅
SSH over Tailscale	Remove public SSH	✅
Tailnet Lock	Cryptographic signatures	⬜ Optional
Webhooks	Change alerts	⬜ Optional

OWASP Agentic Top 10 2026

ID	Risk	Mitigation	Covered
AA1	Agentic Injection	Input validation	✅
AA2	Sensitive Data Exposure	Output filtering	✅
AA3	Improper Output Handling	Sanitization	✅
AA4	Excessive Agency	Least privilege	✅
AA5	Tool Misuse	Skills allowlist	✅
AA6	Insecure Memory	Encrypted memory with retention	✅
AA7	Insufficient Identity	Tailscale ACLs	✅
AA8	Unsafe Agentic Actions	Human-in-the-loop	✅
AA9	Poor Multi-Agent Security	N/A (single agent)	➖
AA10	Missing Audit Logs	Auditd, logging	✅

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Compliance signature

Installation verified by: _________________________

Date: _________________________

Automatic verification score:
- Passed: ____
- Warnings: ____
- Failed: ____

Notes:
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________

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End of installation guide

For ongoing maintenance, see 9. Maintenance.