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Security audit

Escalate

Security checks for vulnerabilities and agentic risk

Overview

The skill is a disclosed local ask-vs-act memory aid that creates persistent notes under ~/escalate but does not hide execution, exfiltrate data, or bypass approval for high-impact actions.

Install this only if you want an agent to keep local, cross-session notes about when it should act versus ask. Review the ~/escalate files periodically, and be cautious about approving workspace AGENTS or SOUL snippets because they can influence future agent behavior.

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
  • Prompt InjectionInstruction Override, Hidden Instructions, Exfiltration Commands
  • Privilege EscalationExcessive Permissions, Sudo/Root Execution, Credential Access
  • Excessive AgencyUnrestricted Tool Access, Autonomous Decision Making, Scope Creep
  • Trigger AbuseOverly Broad Trigger, Shadow Command Trigger, Keyword Baiting Trigger
  • Data ExfiltrationExternal Transmission, Env Variable Harvesting, File System Enumeration
Findings (7)

Anti-Refusal Statement

High
Category
Anti-Refusal
Confidence
55% confidence
Finding

Skill instructs the agent to omit warnings, disclaimers, or ethical commentary. Stripping safety caveats hides risk from the user and is a common jailbreak preamble.

Content

Scanner excerpt · patterns.md (reported line 70)May include surrounding context.

md
- User adds constraints that weren't there before
- Context changed significantly

**Response to demotion:** Don't apologize excessively. Simply say: "Got it, I'll check with you on [category] going forward."

Vague Triggers

Medium
Category
Not specified by scanner
Confidence
88% confidence
Finding

The skill's activation guidance is intentionally broad: it says to use the skill whenever the user wants the agent to decide what can be handled autonomously and to turn it on for agents that act proactively across sessions. That can cause the escalation policy to be invoked in many ordinary planning, drafting, or operational contexts, increasing the chance that the skill's learned ask-vs-act rules influence behavior beyond the user's intended scope.

Content

No source excerpt is available for this finding.

Autonomous Decision Making

Medium
Category
Excessive Agency
Confidence
89% confidence
Finding

This skill explicitly teaches the agent to infer delegation patterns and, after confirmation, 'decide without asking' and eventually 'never re-ask.' In a system connected to tools or external side effects, that can normalize broad standing autonomy, causing the agent to act beyond the user's current intent when context shifts or signals are misread.

Content

Scanner excerpt · patterns.md (reported line 57)May include surrounding context.

I've noticed you've delegated [category] decisions twice now. Should I handle [category] autonomously going forward?

  • Yes → I'll decide without asking
  • No → I'll keep checking with you
  • Sometimes → Tell me when to ask vs decide
text

Vague Triggers

Medium
Category
Not specified by scanner
Confidence
95% confidence
Finding

The activation condition 'when ~/escalate/ is missing or empty' is broad and can trigger setup based on filesystem state alone, without confirming user intent to initialize persistent local memory. In an agent context, this can cause unsolicited creation of stateful files and behavioral routing changes, which is risky because it modifies local environment and future agent behavior before explicit consent.

Content

No source excerpt is available for this finding.

Missing User Warnings

Medium
Category
Not specified by scanner
Confidence
97% confidence
Finding

The file instructs immediate creation of directories/files and permission changes before a meaningful consent checkpoint. In a security-sensitive agent setting, automatically writing to ~/ and establishing persistent state can be abused to implant durable behavior, alter future decision-making, or surprise the user with side effects outside the current task.

Content

No source excerpt is available for this finding.

Sudo/Root Execution

Medium
Category
Privilege Escalation
Confidence
80% confidence
Finding

Commands invoke sudo or root privileges. Verify this elevated access is necessary and justified.

Content

Scanner excerpt · setup.md (reported line 16)May include surrounding context.

bash
mkdir -p ~/escalate/domains
touch ~/escalate/{memory.md,decisions.md}
chmod 700 ~/escalate ~/escalate/domains
chmod 600 ~/escalate/{memory.md,decisions.md}

Sudo/Root Execution

Medium
Category
Privilege Escalation
Confidence
80% confidence
Finding

Commands invoke sudo or root privileges. Verify this elevated access is necessary and justified.

Content

Scanner excerpt · setup.md (reported line 17)May include surrounding context.

mkdir -p ~/escalate/domains touch ~/escalate/{memory.md,decisions.md} chmod 700 ~/escalate ~/escalate/domains chmod 600 ~/escalate/{memory.md,decisions.md}

text

If `~/escalate/memory.md` is empty, initialize it from `memory-template.md`.

Static analysis

No suspicious patterns detected.