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Security audit

国外专利检索

Security checks for vulnerabilities and agentic risk

Overview

The patent-search workflow is legitimate in purpose, but credential storage and request handling need review before using a paid API key.

Before using a paid key, require HTTPS and same-origin request handling, and replace chat-based key collection with secure credential provisioning. Avoid the shared plaintext key file. Submit only technical details approved for PatentMax, set a spending limit, and verify that searches retain the requested countries.

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
  • Data ExfiltrationExternal Transmission, Env Variable Harvesting, File System Enumeration
  • Output HandlingUnvalidated Output Injection, Cross-Context Output, Unbounded Output
  • Taint TrackingDirect Taint Flow, Variable-Mediated Taint Flow, Credential Exfiltration Chain
  • MCP Least PrivilegeUnderdeclared Capability, Wildcard Permission, Missing Permission Declaration
  • MCP Tool PoisoningHidden Instructions, Unicode Deception, Parameter Description Injection
Findings (33)

Tainted flow: 'req' from os.environ.get (line 138, credential/environment) → urllib.request.urlopen (network output)

Critical
Category
Data Flow
Confidence
90% confidence
Finding

Credentials or environment variables flow to a network sink. This is a high-confidence indicator of credential exfiltration.

Content

Scanner excerpt · scripts/patentmax_client.py (reported line 142)May include surrounding context.

python
req.add_header("Content-Type", "application/json")
    req.add_header("Accept", "application/json")
    try:
        with urllib.request.urlopen(req, timeout=30) as response:
            payload = json.loads(response.read().decode("utf-8"))
    except urllib.error.HTTPError as exc:
        message = _server_message(exc.read().decode("utf-8", "replace"))

Tainted flow: 'req' from os.environ.get (line 333, credential/environment) → urllib.request.urlopen (network output)

Critical
Category
Data Flow
Confidence
90% confidence
Finding

Sending the API key to the intended patent service is legitimate, but this request uses urllib's default redirect handling with an Authorization header. A cross-origin redirect can forward that bearer credential to another host; additionally, a configured HTTP endpoint would transmit it without TLS protection.

Content

Scanner excerpt · scripts/patentmax_client.py (reported line 344)May include surrounding context.

python
req.add_header(key, value)

    try:
        with urllib.request.urlopen(req, timeout=TIMEOUT) as response:
            payload = response.read()
            # 服务端每个响应都回本次实扣和扣完后的余额。记下来，供 _spent/_balance 输出。
            # 拿服务端的真值，而不是在本地累加估价：跨进程累加迟早算岔，

Description-Behavior Mismatch

High
Category
MCP Tool Poisoning
Confidence
99% confidence
Finding

The supplied command does not search patents, translate queries, or format results. Although using an API key could support patent searches, printing part of that secret is an undeclared credential-disclosure behavior rather than a necessary implementation detail. The snippet provides no evidence of transmission to an external destination.

Content

No source excerpt is available for this finding.

Description-Behavior Mismatch

High
Category
MCP Tool Poisoning
Confidence
98% confidence
Finding

The explicit ds=cn parameter selects a patent collection inconsistent with the skill’s declared overseas-search scope. The supplied request also uses an untranslated Chinese query, although this chunk alone cannot establish whether translation or output formatting occurs elsewhere. API authentication and idempotency headers are ordinary supporting implementation details, not separate mismatches.

Content

No source excerpt is available for this finding.

Description-Behavior Mismatch

High
Category
MCP Tool Poisoning
Confidence
92% confidence
Finding

The supplied command targets a specific CN publication, which is outside the stated search jurisdictions, and performs a single-patent brief operation rather than the declared overseas patent search workflow. No surrounding code establishes this domestic patent lookup as a supporting step. The client implementation is not supplied, so its internal behavior cannot be verified.

Content

No source excerpt is available for this finding.

Description-Behavior Mismatch

High
Category
MCP Tool Poisoning
Confidence
90% confidence
Finding

所提供代码明确执行中国专利权利要求查询，与声明的海外专利检索范围及操作存在实质差异。API 身份验证本身属于正常实现细节，不构成不匹配。该片段也未展示翻译、中文摘要或清单导出，但仅凭这些功能未出现在片段中，不将其单独作为不匹配依据。

Content

No source excerpt is available for this finding.

Description-Behavior Mismatch

High
Category
MCP Tool Poisoning
Confidence
88% confidence
Finding

The clearest mismatch is geographic scope: the description specifies US, EP, JP, KR, and PCT coverage, whereas the supplied commands include '--scope cn' and repeatedly target CN109761224A. Similarity searches, citations, full text, and figure downloads are reasonable supporting patent-research capabilities, not independently unrelated behavior. Translation, overseas searching, Chinese summarization, and Excel-compatible output are not demonstrated in this chunk, although their absence here does not establish that the complete skill lacks them.

Content

No source excerpt is available for this finding.

Code capability 'env' detected in scripts/patentmax_client.py but not covered by declared permissions.

High
Category
MCP Least Privilege
Confidence
75% confidence
Finding

The skill uses 'env' capability that is not covered by the declared 'allowed-tools' preapproval. Review the host runtime's actual enforcement policy; runtime permissions are unknown unless separately verified, and this declaration alone does not establish a permission ceiling.

Content

No source excerpt is available for this finding.

Code capability 'network' detected in scripts/patentmax_client.py but not covered by declared permissions.

High
Category
MCP Least Privilege
Confidence
75% confidence
Finding

The skill uses 'network' capability that is not covered by the declared 'allowed-tools' preapproval. Review the host runtime's actual enforcement policy; runtime permissions are unknown unless separately verified, and this declaration alone does not establish a permission ceiling.

Content

No source excerpt is available for this finding.

The workflow sends keywords derived from the user's technical description to PatentMax without a privacy warning.

Medium
Category
Output Handling
Confidence
94% confidence
Finding

The workflow sends translated technical concepts to a third-party search provider without warning users that the queries may disclose confidential invention details. Identifying PatentMax as the data source provides some transparency, but patent-search requests can contain unpublished intellectual property, making automatic submission a meaningful confidentiality risk.

Content

No source excerpt is available for this finding.

External Transmission

Medium
Category
Data Exfiltration
Confidence
50% confidence
Finding

Data is being sent to an external URL. This could be legitimate telemetry or data exfiltration. Manual review is recommended.

Content

Scanner excerpt · references/api-reference.md (reported line 16)May include surrounding context.

bash
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $PATENTMAX_API_KEY" \
  "https://api.ip930.com/api/patent?pn=CN109761224A"

服务端自己完成内部寻址，这些前置调用不进用户账单。

External Transmission

Medium
Category
Data Exfiltration
Confidence
50% confidence
Finding

Data is being sent to an external URL. This could be legitimate telemetry or data exfiltration. Manual review is recommended.

Content

Scanner excerpt · references/api-reference.md (reported line 48)May include surrounding context.

服务端直接返回上次的结果、不再扣费；同一个键换了参数会被拒（400）；上一次还在处理中返回 409。

bash
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $PATENTMAX_API_KEY" -H "Idempotency-Key: task42-search-1"   "https://api.ip930.com/api/search?q=%E6%B5%B8%E6%B2%A1%E5%BC%8F%E6%B6%B2%E5%86%B7&ds=cn&size=20"

网络超时、不确定上一次有没有成功时，用同一个键重发，不要换键。

External Transmission

Medium
Category
Data Exfiltration
Confidence
50% confidence
Finding

Data is being sent to an external URL. This could be legitimate telemetry or data exfiltration. Manual review is recommended.

Content

Scanner excerpt · references/api-reference.md (reported line 89)May include surrounding context.

bash
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $PATENTMAX_API_KEY" \
  "https://api.ip930.com/api/patent?pn=CN109761224A"

某一块上游取不到时，该字段为 null 并在 unavailable 里列出，其余照常返回；

External Transmission

Medium
Category
Data Exfiltration
Confidence
50% confidence
Finding

Data is being sent to an external URL. This could be legitimate telemetry or data exfiltration. Manual review is recommended.

Content

Scanner excerpt · references/api-reference.md (reported line 114)May include surrounding context.

bash
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $PATENTMAX_API_KEY" \
  "https://api.ip930.com/api/claims?pn=CN109761224A"

只要同时需要两块以上，就用 /api/patent——它一口价，拆开单买反而贵。

External Transmission

Medium
Category
Data Exfiltration
Confidence
50% confidence
Finding

Data is being sent to an external URL. This could be legitimate telemetry or data exfiltration. Manual review is recommended.

Content

Scanner excerpt · references/faq.md (reported line 119)May include surrounding context.

md
## 花了多少钱

脚本每次返回都带 `_spent`（本次实扣）和 `_balance`（余额），**这两个数来自服务端，是真值**。
准确的流水到[控制台](https://api.ip930.com/features/api-platform)查。

| 调用 | 单价 |
| --- | --- |

External Transmission

Medium
Category
Data Exfiltration
Confidence
50% confidence
Finding

Data is being sent to an external URL. This could be legitimate telemetry or data exfiltration. Manual review is recommended.

Content

Scanner excerpt · references/api-reference.md (reported line 73)May include surrounding context.

curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $PATENTMAX_API_KEY"
--data-urlencode 'q=(固态电池 OR 全固态电池) AND 电解质'
--data-urlencode 'ds=all' --data-urlencode 'size=20'
-G "https://api.ip930.com/api/search"

text

> 检索式里有中文和括号，一定用 `--data-urlencode -G`，别手工拼 URL。

External Transmission

Medium
Category
Data Exfiltration
Confidence
50% confidence
Finding

Data is being sent to an external URL. This could be legitimate telemetry or data exfiltration. Manual review is recommended.

Content

Scanner excerpt · references/faq.md (reported line 35)May include surrounding context.

md
- **密钥复制不全。** 前后有没有多余空格、有没有漏掉尾部字符
- **少了 `Bearer ` 前缀。** 用 curl 时 header 必须是 `Authorization: Bearer pm_live_xxx`，只写密钥不行
- **密钥被撤销了。** 到 [控制台](https://api.ip930.com/features/api-platform)看状态

> 还有个容易踩的：如果请求里带了 `Authorization` 头，URL 上的 `?apikey=` 就不会被读取。两种方式选一种，别混用——带了一个格式错误的 header，正确的 URL 参数也会被忽略。

External Transmission

Medium
Category
Data Exfiltration
Confidence
50% confidence
Finding

Data is being sent to an external URL. This could be legitimate telemetry or data exfiltration. Manual review is recommended.

Content

Scanner excerpt · references/faq.md (reported line 41)May include surrounding context.

md
## 402 余额不足

到[控制台](https://api.ip930.com/features/api-platform)充值。

新账户的体验额度分两笔：注册送 ¥10，第一次调用成功后再送 ¥40。如果第二笔一直没到，确认第一次调用确实返回了 200——失败的调用不算。

Search-narrowing instructions switch to a China-only scope despite the skill's foreign-patent remit.

Medium
Category
Excessive Agency
Confidence
94% confidence
Finding

The narrowing instructions explicitly recommend --scope cn, which conflicts with this skill's stated purpose of searching US, EP, JP, KR, and PCT patents. Following this instruction could silently exclude relevant foreign filings and produce misleading coverage or novelty conclusions, especially when users rely on the results for overseas patent planning. This appears to be an inappropriate reuse of domestic-search guidance rather than evidence of malicious intent.

Content

No source excerpt is available for this finding.

The search workflow lacks a privacy warning about submitting user-derived technical queries to the patent-search service.

Medium
Category
Output Handling
Confidence
90% confidence
Finding

The workflow directs the agent to build and submit technical search queries to a patent-search service without first checking whether the user's invention details are confidential or warning about external disclosure. In this patent-search context, queries may reveal unpublished inventions, proprietary mechanisms, or overseas filing strategy, creating confidentiality and competitive risks depending on the service's handling of queries. The submission serves the stated task and shows no evidence of malicious exfiltration, but the missing privacy checkpoint is a meaningful safeguard gap.

Content

No source excerpt is available for this finding.

External Transmission

Medium
Category
Data Exfiltration
Confidence
50% confidence
Finding

Data is being sent to an external URL. This could be legitimate telemetry or data exfiltration. Manual review is recommended.

Content

Scanner excerpt · references/tools.md (reported line 668)May include surrounding context.

试用用完、过期，或想用其他功能（查新、交底书等）时，命令会返回带 "free_trial": true 的错误，message 里写着下一步怎么办（注册 PatentMax 再送 ¥50 体验额度），原样转告用户，不要自己换写法重试。

用户有自己的密钥时用环境变量传，避免写进命令历史；设了就一律用它，不会领试用。密钥在 api.ip930.com 控制台创建：

bash
export PATENTMAX_API_KEY="pm_live_你的密钥"

External Transmission

Medium
Category
Data Exfiltration
Confidence
60% confidence
Finding

Data is being sent to an external URL. This could be legitimate telemetry or data exfiltration. Manual review is recommended.

Content

Scanner excerpt · references/api-reference.md (reported line 124)May include surrounding context.

健康检查

bash
curl -s "https://api.ip930.com/api/v1/health"

不需要密钥，用来确认网络通不通。

External Transmission

Medium
Category
Data Exfiltration
Confidence
60% confidence
Finding

Data is being sent to an external URL. This could be legitimate telemetry or data exfiltration. Manual review is recommended.

Content

Scanner excerpt · scripts/patentmax_client.py (reported line 102)May include surrounding context.

python
# 设了 PATENTMAX_API_KEY 就一律用它，不会去领试用。
TRIAL_SOURCE = "patent-search-cn"
TRIAL_GROUP = "patent-search"
TRIAL_REGISTER_URL = "https://api.ip930.com/features/api-platform"
KEY_FROM_TRIAL = False

External Transmission

Medium
Category
Data Exfiltration
Confidence
60% confidence
Finding

Data is being sent to an external URL. This could be legitimate telemetry or data exfiltration. Manual review is recommended.

Content

Scanner excerpt · scripts/patentmax_client.py (reported line 296)May include surrounding context.

python
if _billing["balance_cents"] < 500 and not KEY_FROM_TRIAL:  # 试用用户不提醒，用完时服务端会给注册指引
            out["_balance_warning"] = (
                "余额不足 ¥5，继续批量检索会很快耗尽。"
                "请先提醒用户到 https://api.ip930.com/features/api-platform 充值。"
            )
    if _billing["free_quota"]:
        left = max(0, _billing["free_quota"] - (_billing["free_used"] or 0))

External Transmission

Medium
Category
Data Exfiltration
Confidence
60% confidence
Finding

Data is being sent to an external URL. This could be legitimate telemetry or data exfiltration. Manual review is recommended.

Content

Scanner excerpt · scripts/patentmax_client.py (reported line 357)May include surrounding context.

python
hint = {
            400: "参数有问题，检查必填项和取值范围。",
            401: "密钥无效或已撤销。确认 PATENTMAX_API_KEY 是 pm_live_ 或 pm_test_ 开头的完整密钥。",
            402: "余额不足。到 https://api.ip930.com/features/api-platform 充值。",
            403: "该密钥没有此接口的权限。",
            404: "没找到这篇专利。确认公开号正确且带国别代码，如 CN109761224A。",
            409: "同一个请求上一次还在处理中。等几秒重跑同一条命令即可，不会重复扣费。",