T09 · Insecure Skill Coding Practices
Warning
- Location
SKILL.md:306- Finding
Unscoped force termination of the process owning a selected port
- Content
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- Remediation
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Security audit
Openclaw Troubleshooter
Security checks for vulnerabilities and agentic risk
Overview
This OpenClaw troubleshooting skill is purpose-aligned, but its repair instructions can force-stop processes, overwrite configuration, and uninstall skills without the safeguards it claims.
Review this skill carefully before installing. Prefer check-only mode first, manually back up openclaw.json, verify the process name and command line before stopping any PID, and avoid --yes uninstall or fix-all flows unless you have confirmed the exact targets.
Vulnerability Patterns
- Insecure Skill Coding PracticesFinds exploitable flaws such as hardcoded secrets or command injection
- Skill Instruction HijackingAlters the agent's session goals or safety constraints when the skill loads
- Agent Memory PoisoningWrites attacker-controlled rules into memory that affect later sessions
- Remote Payload Retrieval and ExecutionFetches external code whose behavior can change after review
- Embedded Malicious CodeShips malicious scripts inside the skill and executes them locally
Findings (3)
T09 · Insecure Skill Coding Practices
Warning
- Location
SKILL.md:339- Finding
Live configuration is destructively overwritten without backup or atomic replacement
- Content
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- Remediation
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T09 · Insecure Skill Coding Practices
Note
- Location
skill.json:5- Finding
Invalid JSON metadata and inconsistent license declarations
- Content
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- Remediation
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Vulnerability Patterns
- MCP Tool PoisoningHidden Instructions, Unicode Deception, Parameter Description Injection
- Prompt InjectionInstruction Override, Hidden Instructions, Exfiltration Commands
- Data ExfiltrationExternal Transmission, Env Variable Harvesting, File System Enumeration
- Privilege EscalationExcessive Permissions, Sudo/Root Execution, Credential Access
- Supply ChainUnpinned Dependencies, External Script Fetching, Obfuscated Code
Findings (5)
Missing User Warnings
Medium
- Category
- Not specified by scanner
- Confidence
- 94% confidence
- Finding
The skill recommends force-killing node.exe processes and any process bound to port 18789, and the repair script also stops processes by PID. Even if intended for OpenClaw recovery, these actions can terminate unrelated workloads, corrupt in-progress work, or disrupt other services when process selection is too broad or port ownership is misidentified.
- Content
Missing User Warnings
Medium
- Category
- Not specified by scanner
- Confidence
- 95% confidence
- Finding
The fix-config script programmatically rewrites openclaw.json, adding and replacing nested settings including allowedOrigins, trustedProxies, and denyCommands, but does not clearly warn that it will overwrite configuration state. In context, this is risky because operators may run a 'repair' workflow expecting additive checks, while the script silently imposes defaults that may weaken intended custom policy or break existing deployments.
- Content
Intent-Code Divergence
Medium
- Category
- Not specified by scanner
- Confidence
- 98% confidence
- Finding
The documentation promises an automatic backup before repair, but the provided fix-config script writes directly to openclaw.json with Set-Content and shows no backup step. This can permanently destroy a working or partially recoverable configuration during a repair attempt, especially when the script also normalizes multiple settings at once.
- Content
Intent-Code Divergence
Medium
- Category
- Not specified by scanner
- Confidence
- 97% confidence
- Finding
The notes claim dangerous skill uninstallation requires user confirmation, but the documented remediation uses clawhub uninstall ... --yes, which suppresses confirmation entirely. In a troubleshooting skill, this creates a mismatch between user expectations and actual destructive behavior, increasing the chance of accidental removal of software or data needed for investigation.
- Content
Natural-Language Policy Violations
Low
- Category
- Not specified by scanner
- Confidence
- 82% confidence
- Finding
The manifest description and user-facing documentation are entirely in Chinese, with no indication that other languages are supported or that the skill is intentionally restricted to a Chinese-speaking audience. Under the stated policy, forcing a specific language without user opt-in can be a natural-language policy issue.
- Content