Security audit

Australian Business Verification

Security checks for vulnerabilities and agentic risk

Overview

This skill performs disclosed, read-only Australian business registration lookups using the official ABR service and shows no hidden or destructive behavior.

Before installing, users should understand that lookups require setting an ABR_GUID and will send the queried ABN, ACN, or business name to the Australian Business Register. Do not paste the GUID into chat, and use the results as register verification rather than a complete fraud or due-diligence decision.

A.I.G

Vulnerability Patterns

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
Unauthorized Access and Privilege EscalationObtains permissions beyond the task's legitimate needs

SkillSpector

Vulnerability Patterns

Prompt InjectionInstruction Override, Hidden Instructions, Exfiltration Commands
MCP Least PrivilegeUnderdeclared Capability, Wildcard Permission, Missing Permission Declaration
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 (20)

Undeclared Tool Scope

Medium

Category: MCP Least Privilege
Confidence: 95% confidence
Finding: The skill explicitly instructs the agent to access an environment variable (ABR_GUID) and make outbound HTTPS requests to abr.business.gov.au, but it does not declare any corresponding tool scope such as permissions or allowed-tools. This creates a governance gap: a reviewer or runtime may not understand that the skill needs secret and network access, increasing the risk of unintended secret exposure or unauthorized external communication if broader tools are implicitly available.
Content: No source excerpt is available for this finding.

Whitespace Padding

Medium

Category: Prompt Injection
Confidence: 70% confidence
Finding: Large whitespace padding was detected (a block of blank lines or a long run of spaces). This can push injected instructions below or to the right of the visible area so a human reviewer never sees them while the agent still reads them. Manual review of the hidden content is recommended.
Content: Scanner excerpt · SKILL.md (reported line 182)May include surrounding context.
md
## Error handling & edge cases | Situation | How to respond | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `ABR_GUID` not set | Explain the free GUID registration process (Setup section); don't retry without it | | Local checksum fails (`--validate`) | Tell the user the ABN/ACN appears mistyped before calling the API |

Whitespace Padding

Medium

Category: Prompt Injection
Confidence: 70% confidence
Finding: Large whitespace padding was detected (a block of blank lines or a long run of spaces). This can push injected instructions below or to the right of the visible area so a human reviewer never sees them while the agent still reads them. Manual review of the hidden content is recommended.
Content: Scanner excerpt · SKILL.md (reported line 184)May include surrounding context.
md
| Situation | How to respond | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `ABR_GUID` not set | Explain the free GUID registration process (Setup section); don't retry without it | | Local checksum fails (`--validate`) | Tell the user the ABN/ACN appears mistyped before calling the API | | `message` = "No records found" | The ABN/ACN doesn't exist on the ABR. State this plainly — it does **not** necessarily mean fraud, but the number as given is not a registered ABN/ACN | | `message` mentions "GUID...not recognised" or "registration...has been cancelled" | This is a setup/credential problem, not a problem with the business being checked. Direct the user to re-check their GUID or re-register; do not present this as information about the business |

Whitespace Padding

Medium

Category: Prompt Injection
Confidence: 70% confidence
Finding: Large whitespace padding was detected (a block of blank lines or a long run of spaces). This can push injected instructions below or to the right of the visible area so a human reviewer never sees them while the agent still reads them. Manual review of the hidden content is recommended.
Content: Scanner excerpt · SKILL.md (reported line 189)May include surrounding context.
md
| `message` = "No records found" | The ABN/ACN doesn't exist on the ABR. State this plainly — it does **not** necessarily mean fraud, but the number as given is not a registered ABN/ACN | | `message` mentions "GUID...not recognised" or "registration...has been cancelled" | This is a setup/credential problem, not a problem with the business being checked. Direct the user to re-check their GUID or re-register; do not present this as information about the business | | `abnStatus` = "Cancelled" | Registered historically, not currently active. Report clearly as **Cancelled**, not "inactive business doesn't exist" | | `gst` is empty/null | Entity is not currently registered for GST — note this plainly, especially for invoicing/BAS questions | | Name search returns 0 results | Try a shorter or differently-spelled name, or ask the user for an ABN/ACN instead | | Name search returns many similar-scoring results | List the top few and ask the user to disambiguate — never pick one arbitrarily | | Network/timeout error | Retry once. If it fails again, tell the user the ABR service couldn't be reached and suggest checking https://abr.business.gov.au directly |

Whitespace Padding

Medium

Category: Prompt Injection
Confidence: 70% confidence
Finding: Large whitespace padding was detected (a block of blank lines or a long run of spaces). This can push injected instructions below or to the right of the visible area so a human reviewer never sees them while the agent still reads them. Manual review of the hidden content is recommended.
Content: Scanner excerpt · SKILL.md (reported line 190)May include surrounding context.
md
| `message` mentions "GUID...not recognised" or "registration...has been cancelled" | This is a setup/credential problem, not a problem with the business being checked. Direct the user to re-check their GUID or re-register; do not present this as information about the business | | `abnStatus` = "Cancelled" | Registered historically, not currently active. Report clearly as **Cancelled**, not "inactive business doesn't exist" | | `gst` is empty/null | Entity is not currently registered for GST — note this plainly, especially for invoicing/BAS questions | | Name search returns 0 results | Try a shorter or differently-spelled name, or ask the user for an ABN/ACN instead | | Name search returns many similar-scoring results | List the top few and ask the user to disambiguate — never pick one arbitrarily | | Network/timeout error | Retry once. If it fails again, tell the user the ABR service couldn't be reached and suggest checking https://abr.business.gov.au directly | | Checking many ABNs in a loop | Space out calls (the ABR does not publish a hard rate limit, but a ~150–200ms pause between calls is good practice for fair use) |

Whitespace Padding

Medium

Category: Prompt Injection
Confidence: 70% confidence
Finding: Large whitespace padding was detected (a block of blank lines or a long run of spaces). This can push injected instructions below or to the right of the visible area so a human reviewer never sees them while the agent still reads them. Manual review of the hidden content is recommended.
Content: Scanner excerpt · SKILL.md (reported line 191)May include surrounding context.
md
| `abnStatus` = "Cancelled" | Registered historically, not currently active. Report clearly as **Cancelled**, not "inactive business doesn't exist" | | `gst` is empty/null | Entity is not currently registered for GST — note this plainly, especially for invoicing/BAS questions | | Name search returns 0 results | Try a shorter or differently-spelled name, or ask the user for an ABN/ACN instead | | Name search returns many similar-scoring results | List the top few and ask the user to disambiguate — never pick one arbitrarily | | Network/timeout error | Retry once. If it fails again, tell the user the ABR service couldn't be reached and suggest checking https://abr.business.gov.au directly | | Checking many ABNs in a loop | Space out calls (the ABR does not publish a hard rate limit, but a ~150–200ms pause between calls is good practice for fair use) |

Whitespace Padding

Medium

Category: Prompt Injection
Confidence: 70% confidence
Finding: Large whitespace padding was detected (a block of blank lines or a long run of spaces). This can push injected instructions below or to the right of the visible area so a human reviewer never sees them while the agent still reads them. Manual review of the hidden content is recommended.
Content: Scanner excerpt · reference/api-reference.md (reported line 63)May include surrounding context.
md
the cleaner `summary`/lowercase fields described in `SKILL.md`; this table covers the raw ABR field names in case you need to inspect them directly. | Raw field | Type | Description | | ----------------- | ---------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | `Abn` | string | The 11-digit ABN (no spaces) | | `Acn` | string | The 9-digit ACN, if the entity is a company. Empty for sole traders, trusts, partnerships |

Whitespace Padding

Medium

Category: Prompt Injection
Confidence: 70% confidence
Finding: Large whitespace padding was detected (a block of blank lines or a long run of spaces). This can push injected instructions below or to the right of the visible area so a human reviewer never sees them while the agent still reads them. Manual review of the hidden content is recommended.
Content: Scanner excerpt · reference/api-reference.md (reported line 99)May include surrounding context.
md
Each entry in `Names`: | Field | Type | Description | | ----------- | -------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | `Abn` | string | ABN of the matched entity | | `AbnStatus` | string | Numeric/coded status indicator from the name-search index (treat `AbnStatus` from `AbnDetails.aspx` as authoritative for active/cancelled — if you need a definitive status, follow up with an `AbnDetails.aspx` lookup) |

Whitespace Padding

Medium

Category: Prompt Injection
Confidence: 70% confidence
Finding: Large whitespace padding was detected (a block of blank lines or a long run of spaces). This can push injected instructions below or to the right of the visible area so a human reviewer never sees them while the agent still reads them. Manual review of the hidden content is recommended.
Content: Scanner excerpt · reference/api-reference.md (reported line 101)May include surrounding context.
md
| Field | Type | Description | | ----------- | -------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | `Abn` | string | ABN of the matched entity | | `AbnStatus` | string | Numeric/coded status indicator from the name-search index (treat `AbnStatus` from `AbnDetails.aspx` as authoritative for active/cancelled — if you need a definitive status, follow up with an `AbnDetails.aspx` lookup) | | `Name` | string | The matched name text | | `NameType` | string | e.g. `"Entity Name"`, `"Business Name"`, `"Trading Name"` |

Whitespace Padding

Medium

Category: Prompt Injection
Confidence: 70% confidence
Finding: Large whitespace padding was detected (a block of blank lines or a long run of spaces). This can push injected instructions below or to the right of the visible area so a human reviewer never sees them while the agent still reads them. Manual review of the hidden content is recommended.
Content: Scanner excerpt · reference/api-reference.md (reported line 103)May include surrounding context.
md
| ----------- | -------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | `Abn` | string | ABN of the matched entity | | `AbnStatus` | string | Numeric/coded status indicator from the name-search index (treat `AbnStatus` from `AbnDetails.aspx` as authoritative for active/cancelled — if you need a definitive status, follow up with an `AbnDetails.aspx` lookup) | | `Name` | string | The matched name text | | `NameType` | string | e.g. `"Entity Name"`, `"Business Name"`, `"Trading Name"` | | `IsCurrent` | string/bool | Whether this is the entity's currently-registered name | | `State` | string | State of the main business location |

Whitespace Padding

Medium

Category: Prompt Injection
Confidence: 70% confidence
Finding: Large whitespace padding was detected (a block of blank lines or a long run of spaces). This can push injected instructions below or to the right of the visible area so a human reviewer never sees them while the agent still reads them. Manual review of the hidden content is recommended.
Content: Scanner excerpt · reference/api-reference.md (reported line 104)May include surrounding context.
md
| `Abn` | string | ABN of the matched entity | | `AbnStatus` | string | Numeric/coded status indicator from the name-search index (treat `AbnStatus` from `AbnDetails.aspx` as authoritative for active/cancelled — if you need a definitive status, follow up with an `AbnDetails.aspx` lookup) | | `Name` | string | The matched name text | | `NameType` | string | e.g. `"Entity Name"`, `"Business Name"`, `"Trading Name"` | | `IsCurrent` | string/bool | Whether this is the entity's currently-registered name | | `State` | string | State of the main business location | | `Postcode` | string | Postcode of the main business location |

Whitespace Padding

Medium

Category: Prompt Injection
Confidence: 70% confidence
Finding: Large whitespace padding was detected (a block of blank lines or a long run of spaces). This can push injected instructions below or to the right of the visible area so a human reviewer never sees them while the agent still reads them. Manual review of the hidden content is recommended.
Content: Scanner excerpt · reference/api-reference.md (reported line 105)May include surrounding context.
md
| `AbnStatus` | string | Numeric/coded status indicator from the name-search index (treat `AbnStatus` from `AbnDetails.aspx` as authoritative for active/cancelled — if you need a definitive status, follow up with an `AbnDetails.aspx` lookup) | | `Name` | string | The matched name text | | `NameType` | string | e.g. `"Entity Name"`, `"Business Name"`, `"Trading Name"` | | `IsCurrent` | string/bool | Whether this is the entity's currently-registered name | | `State` | string | State of the main business location | | `Postcode` | string | Postcode of the main business location | | `Score` | number (0–100) | Relevance score — higher is a closer match |

Whitespace Padding

Medium

Category: Prompt Injection
Confidence: 70% confidence
Finding: Large whitespace padding was detected (a block of blank lines or a long run of spaces). This can push injected instructions below or to the right of the visible area so a human reviewer never sees them while the agent still reads them. Manual review of the hidden content is recommended.
Content: Scanner excerpt · reference/api-reference.md (reported line 106)May include surrounding context.
md
| `Name` | string | The matched name text | | `NameType` | string | e.g. `"Entity Name"`, `"Business Name"`, `"Trading Name"` | | `IsCurrent` | string/bool | Whether this is the entity's currently-registered name | | `State` | string | State of the main business location | | `Postcode` | string | Postcode of the main business location | | `Score` | number (0–100) | Relevance score — higher is a closer match |

Whitespace Padding

Medium

Category: Prompt Injection
Confidence: 70% confidence
Finding: Large whitespace padding was detected (a block of blank lines or a long run of spaces). This can push injected instructions below or to the right of the visible area so a human reviewer never sees them while the agent still reads them. Manual review of the hidden content is recommended.
Content: Scanner excerpt · reference/api-reference.md (reported line 107)May include surrounding context.
md
| `NameType` | string | e.g. `"Entity Name"`, `"Business Name"`, `"Trading Name"` | | `IsCurrent` | string/bool | Whether this is the entity's currently-registered name | | `State` | string | State of the main business location | | `Postcode` | string | Postcode of the main business location | | `Score` | number (0–100) | Relevance score — higher is a closer match | Because name search doesn't return `EntityTypeName` or `Gst`, always follow up

Whitespace Padding

Medium

Category: Prompt Injection
Confidence: 70% confidence
Finding: Large whitespace padding was detected (a block of blank lines or a long run of spaces). This can push injected instructions below or to the right of the visible area so a human reviewer never sees them while the agent still reads them. Manual review of the hidden content is recommended.
Content: Scanner excerpt · reference/api-reference.md (reported line 108)May include surrounding context.
md
| `IsCurrent` | string/bool | Whether this is the entity's currently-registered name | | `State` | string | State of the main business location | | `Postcode` | string | Postcode of the main business location | | `Score` | number (0–100) | Relevance score — higher is a closer match | Because name search doesn't return `EntityTypeName` or `Gst`, always follow up with an `AbnDetails.aspx` lookup (via `--abn`) on the chosen candidate before

Whitespace Padding

Medium

Category: Prompt Injection
Confidence: 70% confidence
Finding: Large whitespace padding was detected (a block of blank lines or a long run of spaces). This can push injected instructions below or to the right of the visible area so a human reviewer never sees them while the agent still reads them. Manual review of the hidden content is recommended.
Content: Scanner excerpt · reference/api-reference.md (reported line 142)May include surrounding context.
md
If `Message` is non-empty, the lookup did not return entity data. Common messages and how to respond: | `Message` contains | Meaning | Suggested response | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | "No records found" | The ABN/ACN/name has no match on the ABR | State plainly that no entity matches this number/name on the register; suggest the user double-check it | | "Search text is not a valid ABN or ACN" | The identifier failed format/checksum validation | Should be caught by `--validate` first; if it still occurs, ask the user to re-confirm the number |

Whitespace Padding

Medium

Category: Prompt Injection
Confidence: 70% confidence
Finding: Large whitespace padding was detected (a block of blank lines or a long run of spaces). This can push injected instructions below or to the right of the visible area so a human reviewer never sees them while the agent still reads them. Manual review of the hidden content is recommended.
Content: Scanner excerpt · reference/api-reference.md (reported line 148)May include surrounding context.
md
| "Search text is not a valid ABN or ACN" | The identifier failed format/checksum validation | Should be caught by `--validate` first; if it still occurs, ask the user to re-confirm the number | | "The GUID entered is not recognised as a Registered Party" | The configured `ABR_GUID` is invalid or not yet activated | This is a **setup problem**, not information about the business. Direct the user to re-check registration at https://abr.business.gov.au/Tools/WebServices | | "The registration for the party identified by this GUID has been cancelled" | The GUID was valid but has since been revoked | Same as above — direct the user to re-register; contact `ABNLookup.Support@industry.gov.au` if needed | | "No name search criteria entered" / "Name search type cannot be determined" | Empty or unusable search string | Ask the user for a clearer business name | | "An ABN is invalid in Name Search" / "An ACN is invalid in Name Search" | The user passed a number into `--name` — re-run with `--abn`/`--acn` instead | Re-run with the correct flag | | HTTP-level errors (404/500) or "System problems have prevented this request from completing" | ABR service issue | Retry once; if it persists, tell the user the government service is temporarily unreachable |

Whitespace Padding

Medium

Category: Prompt Injection
Confidence: 70% confidence
Finding: Large whitespace padding was detected (a block of blank lines or a long run of spaces). This can push injected instructions below or to the right of the visible area so a human reviewer never sees them while the agent still reads them. Manual review of the hidden content is recommended.
Content: Scanner excerpt · SKILL.md (reported line 185)May include surrounding context.
md
| "The GUID entered is not recognised as a Registered Party" | The configured `ABR_GUID` is invalid or not yet activated | This is a **setup problem**, not information about the business. Direct the user to re-check registration at https://abr.business.gov.au/Tools/WebServices | | "The registration for the party identified by this GUID has been cancelled" | The GUID was valid but has since been revoked | Same as above — direct the user to re-register; contact `ABNLookup.Support@industry.gov.au` if needed | | "No name search criteria entered" / "Name search type cannot be determined" | Empty or unusable search string | Ask the user for a clearer business name | | "An ABN is invalid in Name Search" / "An ACN is invalid in Name Search" | The user passed a number into `--name` — re-run with `--abn`/`--acn` instead | Re-run with the correct flag | | HTTP-level errors (404/500) or "System problems have prevented this request from completing" | ABR service issue | Retry once; if it persists, tell the user the government service is temporarily unreachable | ## Fair use / rate limits

Whitespace Padding

Medium

Category: Prompt Injection
Confidence: 70% confidence
Finding: Large whitespace padding was detected (a block of blank lines or a long run of spaces). This can push injected instructions below or to the right of the visible area so a human reviewer never sees them while the agent still reads them. Manual review of the hidden content is recommended.
Content: Scanner excerpt · reference/api-reference.md (reported line 149)May include surrounding context.
md
| "The GUID entered is not recognised as a Registered Party" | The configured `ABR_GUID` is invalid or not yet activated | This is a **setup problem**, not information about the business. Direct the user to re-check registration at https://abr.business.gov.au/Tools/WebServices | | "The registration for the party identified by this GUID has been cancelled" | The GUID was valid but has since been revoked | Same as above — direct the user to re-register; contact `ABNLookup.Support@industry.gov.au` if needed | | "No name search criteria entered" / "Name search type cannot be determined" | Empty or unusable search string | Ask the user for a clearer business name | | "An ABN is invalid in Name Search" / "An ACN is invalid in Name Search" | The user passed a number into `--name` — re-run with `--abn`/`--acn` instead | Re-run with the correct flag | | HTTP-level errors (404/500) or "System problems have prevented this request from completing" | ABR service issue | Retry once; if it persists, tell the user the government service is temporarily unreachable | ## Fair use / rate limits

Natural-Language Policy Violations

Low

Category: Not specified by scanner
Confidence: 84% confidence
Finding: The file repeatedly frames the skill as specific to Australian business identifiers and services, including ABN/ACN-only inputs and the Australian Business Register API. Under the natural-language policy rule, locale-specific behavior should either offer user opt-in or clearly document and justify the constraint; this file does not explicitly present the regional limitation as a user choice or policy-bound restriction.
Content: No source excerpt is available for this finding.

Static analysis

No suspicious patterns detected.