T08 · Insecure Dependencies
- Location
requirements.txt:1- Finding
Standard-Library Modules Misdeclared as Installable Dependencies
- Content
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Vulnerability Details
File Location:
requirements.txt, lines 1-7
Vulnerability Type: Dependency confusion and unnecessary third-party package installation
Risk Level: MediumVulnerable Code
text # No external dependencies required # Uses Python standard library only argparse json math sys typingTechnical Analysis
The dependency manifest lists
argparse,json,math,sys, andtyping, even though these are Python standard-library modules. They must not be installed from a third-party package index.This also directly contradicts the manifest comments and the prerequisite statement in
SKILL.md, which state that no external packages are required. If a user or automated deployment system executes the conventional commandpip install -r requirements.txt, pip may attempt to resolve these names from the configured package index. Depending on the environment and index contents, this can cause installation failure or install unrelated third-party distributions that happen to use standard-library module names.The latter behavior creates an avoidable supply-chain attack surface. A malicious or compromised package distribution could execute installation hooks or introduce attacker-controlled code into the Python environment.
Attack Path
- A user, CI job, container build, or deployment process treats
requirements.txtas the authoritative dependency manifest. - The process runs
pip install -r requirements.txt. - Pip queries its configured public or private package index for the listed names.
- A distribution unrelated to Python's standard-library implementation is resolved for one or more names.
- The distribution is downloaded and installed with the permissions of the installation process.
- Malicious installation hooks or subsequently imported package code could execute within that environment.
Successful exploitation depends on package-index availability, resolution behavior, package contents, and the pri ...[truncated 731 chars]
- A user, CI job, container build, or deployment process treats
- Remediation
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Remediation Suggestions
- Remove all standard-library module names from
requirements.txt. - Because the application uses only the Python standard library, either delete
requirements.txtor retain only explanatory comments:
text # No third-party dependencies are required.- If external dependencies are introduced later:
- Use verified distribution names rather than import-module names.
- Pin reviewed versions.
- Use hashes, such as pip's
--require-hashesworkflow. - Install only from trusted, explicitly configured indexes.
- Review transitive dependencies and package installation behavior.
- Add a CI check that creates a clean environment and verifies that the application runs without installing third-party packages.
- Keep the dependency manifest consistent with the prerequisites documented in
SKILL.md.
- Remove all standard-library module names from
