ERR_INTERNAL_ASSERTION crash in cjsLoader (Node 22.22.2) — gateway crash loop since 0.7.82111 auto-update

[ivanfernadezm99]

Summary

OpenClaw gateway (v2026.5.12) enters a crash loop ~25s after startup with ERR_INTERNAL_ASSERTION in node:internal/modules/esm/translators (cjsLoader) as soon as this plugin is enabled. Reproduced with 0.7.82111 (auto-updated) and 0.7.821 (pinned, --force). Disabling the plugin → gateway stable. This started exactly with the 0.7.82111 auto-update on 2026-08-01.

Environment

• OS: Ubuntu (kernel 5.15.0-186), x86_64
• Node: v22.22.2 (via nvm, /home/servidor/.nvm/versions/node/v22.22.2/bin/node) — meets plugin engines.node >=22.0.0
• OpenClaw: 2026.5.12 (systemd user service openclaw-gateway.service, port 18789)
• Plugin: @agentchatme/openclaw 0.7.82111 → downgraded and pinned to 0.7.821 — both crash identically
• Runtime: ESM ("type": "module"), main: ./dist/index.cjs, dual exports (import → ./dist/index.js, require → ./dist/index.cjs)

Crash trace (journalctl, repeats every ~25s)

Unhandled promise rejection: Error [ERR_INTERNAL_ASSERTION]: This is caused by either a bug in Node.js or incorrect usage of Node.js internals.
    at assert (node:internal/assert:11:11)
    at cjsLoader (node:internal/modules/esm/translators:308:5)
    at ModuleWrap.<anonymous> (node:internal/modules/esm/translators:202:7)
    at ModuleJob.run (node:internal/modules/esm/module_job:343:25)
    at async onImport.tracePromise.__proto__ (node:internal/modules/esm/loader:665:26)

What I tested

1. ❌ 0.7.82111 (auto-updated 2026-08-01T04:22:01Z) → crash loop
2. ❌ 0.7.821 pinned via openclaw plugins install @agentchatme/openclaw@0.7.821 --force --pin → identical crash
3. ✅ Plugin enabled: false in openclaw.json → gateway stable, {"ok":true,"status":"live"}

Hypothesis

Crash is in Node's ESM→CJS translator (cjsLoader, translators:308). The package ships a dual build (dist/index.js ESM + dist/index.cjs CJS) with "type": "module" and main pointing to the .cjs — likely one of the CJS entrypoints (./dist/index.cjs or a dependency like ./configured-state.cjs / ./setup-entry.cjs) is being loaded through the ESM loader and hitting the internal assertion. Worth checking the generated .cjs files for import/export statements or a dependency that resolves oddly under ESM.

How to reproduce

1. openclaw plugins install @agentchatme/openclaw@0.7.82111
2. Enable plugin in openclaw.json
3. Start gateway → wait ~25s → observe crash loop with trace above

Full stability bundles: ~/.openclaw/logs/stability/openclaw-stability-*.json (reason: unhandled_rejection).