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Security audit

metacognitive-self-mod

Security checks for vulnerabilities and agentic risk

Overview

The skill is purpose-aligned but needs Review because it can persistently record agent execution traces without clear user consent or redaction safeguards.

Install only if you are comfortable with a self-improvement workflow that can retain execution traces and aggregate learning data under ~/.claude/skills. Before using it, confirm how trace capture is enabled, how sensitive paths or project details are redacted, and how traces and persistent memory can be disabled or deleted.

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
Vulnerability Patterns
  • Data ExfiltrationExternal Transmission, Env Variable Harvesting, File System Enumeration
  • Rogue AgentSelf-Modification, Session Persistence
  • Prompt InjectionInstruction Override, Hidden Instructions, Exfiltration Commands
  • Privilege EscalationExcessive Permissions, Sudo/Root Execution, Credential Access
  • Supply ChainUnpinned Dependencies, External Script Fetching, Obfuscated Code
Findings (3)

Self-Modification

High
Category
Rogue Agent
Confidence
85% confidence
Finding

Skill modifies its own code, configuration, or behavior at runtime. Self-modification enables an agent to escalate privileges, disable safety constraints, or install persistent backdoors.

Content

Scanner excerpt · SKILL.md (reported line 226)May include surrounding context.

)

text

### Step 7: Update skill-improver strategy

If significant meta-insights are found, propose concrete
modifications to the skill-improver agent:

Missing User Warnings

Medium
Category
Not specified by scanner
Confidence
94% confidence
Finding

The skill explicitly promotes recording execution traces for continuous learning, including tool targets, rationales, decisions, and token usage, but does not require notice, consent, or redaction guidance before capture. In a self-improvement context, those traces can easily contain sensitive paths, code, prompts, secrets, or user/project data, so silent collection creates a real privacy and data-handling risk.

Content

No source excerpt is available for this finding.

Missing User Warnings

Medium
Category
Not specified by scanner
Confidence
95% confidence
Finding

The storage section documents persistent on-disk retention of raw JSON trace files and persistent aggregate memory, but provides no safeguards around sensitivity, access control, encryption, or user awareness. Because the traces may include detailed execution history and attribution data, retained files increase the chance of later disclosure, local compromise, or unintended reuse of sensitive information.

Content

No source excerpt is available for this finding.

Static analysis

No suspicious patterns detected.