Security audit

podcast-intel

Security checks for vulnerabilities and agentic risk

Overview

This skill is a coherent Overcast podcast-analysis helper, but it handles sensitive listening history and an Overcast session cookie that users should protect.

Before installing, treat ~/.overcast/auth.json as a sensitive login credential, keep it in a private directory with restrictive permissions, avoid cloud-synced/shared storage for the database and transcripts unless intended, and consider pinning or reviewing the third-party CLI package versions before running them. Only enable the suggested daily sync if you want an ongoing local record of your listening activity.

A.I.G

Vulnerability Patterns

Insecure DependenciesIntroduces malicious components through unsafe dependency sources
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 (1)

T08 · Insecure Dependencies

Warning

Location: SKILL.md:31
Finding: Unpinned Third-Party CLI Packages Are Installed and Executed
Content: View full analysis
Remediation: View remediation
' uv tool install 'podcast-transcript-convert==' ``` 2. Use a lockfile or equivalent reproducible dependency manifest that also pins transitive dependencies. 3. Verify downloaded artifacts using trusted hashes or package signatures. Record expected hashes in reviewed project documentation or configuration. 4. Document the exact trusted package registry and upstream repository. Avoid fallback to untrusted indexes or similarly named packages. 5. Review new package and dependency versions before updating the pins. Use automated dependency scanning and provenance verification where available. 6. Run synchronization tools with least privilege. Ensure `~/.overcast/auth.json` is readable only by its owner, for example: ```bash chmod 600 ~/.overcast/auth.json ``` 7. Where practical, isolate the tools in a dedicated environment or operating-system account with access only to the required Overcast files and archive directories. 8. Restrict outbound network access to endpoints required for Overcast, podcast feeds, and transcript retrieval, reducing the exfiltration opportunities available to a compromised dependency. ]]>

SkillSpector

Vulnerability Patterns

Rogue AgentSelf-Modification, Session Persistence
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 (3)

Missing User Warnings

Medium

Category: Not specified by scanner
Confidence: 94% confidence
Finding: The skill description tells users it will sync listening history, transcripts, and analysis inputs into local storage, but it does not explicitly warn that this creates a durable local record of potentially sensitive personal media consumption and derived insights. Users may invoke the skill without understanding the privacy implications, leading to inadvertent collection and retention of sensitive behavioral data.
Content: No source excerpt is available for this finding.

Session Persistence

Medium

Category: Rogue Agent
Confidence: 84% confidence
Finding: The instructions advise persisting an Overcast session cookie in ~/.overcast/auth.json without guidance on restrictive file permissions or secret handling. If another local user, malware, backups, or sync tooling can access that file, the stored session may be reused to access the user's Overcast account until the cookie is rotated or expires.
Content: Scanner excerpt · SKILL.md (reported line 46)May include surrounding context.
Store auth.json somewhere stable, e.g. ~/.overcast/auth.json:

bash
mkdir -p ~/.overcast mv auth.json ~/.overcast/auth.json

Missing User Warnings

Medium

Category: Not specified by scanner
Confidence: 90% confidence
Finding: The recommended daily cron job encourages continuous background syncing of Overcast activity without warning that it will keep appending/updating a local behavioral history database over time. This can increase privacy exposure by collecting more complete and persistent records than a user may expect, especially on shared or lightly secured systems.
Content: No source excerpt is available for this finding.