Back to skill

Security audit

Thesis Defense Q&A Generator

Security checks for vulnerabilities and agentic risk

Overview

This skill is a straightforward thesis-defense Q&A helper with no code execution, persistence, credential use, or hidden data movement.

Before installing, be aware that the skill is designed to analyze thesis text you provide and produce practice answers in the thesis's dominant language by default. Do not provide private research data or participant information unless you are comfortable sharing it with the agent environment.

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
  • Excessive AgencyUnrestricted Tool Access, Autonomous Decision Making, Scope Creep
  • 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 (5)

Natural-Language Policy Violations

Medium
Category
Not specified by scanner
Confidence
94% confidence
Finding

The description states that questions and answers 'must use the same dominant language as the thesis unless the user requests another language.' This sets a default language policy based on document content rather than explicit user choice, which can violate language/locale policy because it forces a language unless the user overrides it.

Content

No source excerpt is available for this finding.

Natural-Language Policy Violations

Medium
Category
Not specified by scanner
Confidence
96% confidence
Finding

The scope section says to 'Default to the same dominant language as the thesis' and gives automatic language switching rules for Chinese and English. Because this behavior is automatic unless the user specifies otherwise, it imposes a language choice without explicit opt-in.

Content

No source excerpt is available for this finding.

Natural-Language Policy Violations

Medium
Category
Not specified by scanner
Confidence
91% confidence
Finding

The drafting workflow instructs the skill to 'use that language for all questions and answers' after detecting the thesis's dominant language. This is a natural-language policy issue because it requires a specific language output path without first obtaining affirmative user preference.

Content

No source excerpt is available for this finding.

Scope Creep

Low
Category
Excessive Agency
Confidence
70% confidence
Finding

Skill's behavior or capabilities extend beyond its stated purpose. Scope creep allows an agent to perform actions unrelated to its documented functionality, increasing the attack surface.

Content

Scanner excerpt · references/defense-qa-guide.md (reported line 398)May include surrounding context.

md
> Thank you for pointing that out. I have not read that article closely enough to evaluate it responsibly. I would be glad to read it after the defense and consider whether it should be incorporated into the literature review or discussion.

### If a Suggestion Is Valuable but Beyond the Scope

Response:

Scope Creep

Low
Category
Excessive Agency
Confidence
70% confidence
Finding

Skill's behavior or capabilities extend beyond its stated purpose. Scope creep allows an agent to perform actions unrelated to its documented functionality, increasing the attack surface.

Content

Scanner excerpt · references/defense-qa-guide.md (reported line 515)May include surrounding context.

md
### Scope Boundary Template

> That is an important point, but it goes beyond the scope of the current thesis. This study focuses on ..., so it does not fully examine .... I can add this point to the section on future research and suggest that later studies investigate it through ....

## Revision Checklist

Static analysis

No suspicious patterns detected.