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Security audit

Pinterest Scraper

Security checks for vulnerabilities and agentic risk

Overview

The skill is a real Pinterest scraper, but it needs review because it disables HTTPS safety checks and can upload local image files to Telegram with weak scoping and credential handling.

Review this skill before installing. Use it only with a dedicated empty output folder, avoid Telegram mode for private or sensitive images, do not pass long-lived bot tokens in shell history, and do not rely on the documented verify=False workaround unless you accept the interception risk.

A.I.G

Vulnerability Patterns
  • Insecure DependenciesIntroduces malicious components through unsafe dependency sources
  • Insecure Skill Coding PracticesFinds exploitable flaws such as hardcoded secrets or command injection
  • 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
Findings (4)

T09 · Insecure Skill Coding Practices

Error
Location
scripts/scrape_pinterest.py:163
Finding

TLS Certificate Verification Disabled for Image Downloads

Content
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Remediation
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T09 · Insecure Skill Coding Practices

Warning
Location
scripts/scrape_pinterest.py:212
Finding

Telegram Bot Token Exposed Through Command-Line Arguments and Exception Logging

Content
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Remediation
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T09 · Insecure Skill Coding Practices

Warning
Location
scripts/scrape_pinterest.py:195
Finding

Telegram-Only Mode Can Upload Unrelated JPEG Files from the Output Directory

Content
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Remediation
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T08 · Insecure Dependencies

Note
Location
SKILL.md:7
Finding

Third-Party Python and Browser Dependencies Are Not Version-Pinned

Content
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Remediation
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SkillSpector

Vulnerability Patterns
  • Data ExfiltrationExternal Transmission, Env Variable Harvesting, File System Enumeration
  • Excessive AgencyUnrestricted Tool Access, Autonomous Decision Making, Scope Creep
  • Tool MisuseTool Parameter Abuse, Chaining Abuse, Unsafe Defaults
  • Trigger AbuseOverly Broad Trigger, Shadow Command Trigger, Keyword Baiting Trigger
  • Taint TrackingDirect Taint Flow, Variable-Mediated Taint Flow, Credential Exfiltration Chain
Findings (12)

Ae1

High
Category
analysis-evasion
Confidence
100% confidence
Finding

Referenced artifact was not completely inspected

Content

Scanner excerpt · SKILL.md (reported line 143)May include surrounding context.

md
['python3', 'scrape_pinterest.py', '-u', 'URL', '-s', '50', '-q', 'originals'],

Tainted flow: 'file_data' from open (line 212, file read) → requests.post (network output)

High
Category
Data Flow
Confidence
80% confidence
Finding

File contents flow to a network sink. This may indicate data exfiltration of sensitive files.

Content

Scanner excerpt · scripts/scrape_pinterest.py (reported line 214)May include surrounding context.

python
media = [{"type": "photo", "media": f"attach://{f}"} for f in batch]
            file_data = {f: open(f"{self.output_folder}/{f}", 'rb') for f in batch}
            try:
                r = requests.post(f"https://api.telegram.org/bot{self.token}/sendMediaGroup",
                                data={"chat_id": self.chat_id, "media": json.dumps(media)},
                                files=file_data, timeout=60)
                if r.status_code == 200:

Missing User Warnings

Medium
Category
Not specified by scanner
Confidence
92% confidence
Finding

The skill promotes optional Telegram delivery of scraped images but does not clearly warn that images and related metadata will be transmitted to a third-party service. This can expose private, copyrighted, or sensitive content to Telegram infrastructure and to anyone with access to the specified bot or chat.

Content

No source excerpt is available for this finding.

Vague Triggers

Medium
Category
Not specified by scanner
Confidence
93% confidence
Finding

The phrase 'This skill triggers when user wants to download images from Pinterest' is broad and does not define specific invocation phrases, scope limits, or exclusion conditions. Without narrower trigger wording or negative examples, the skill could be invoked for a wide range of ordinary Pinterest-related requests beyond the intended scraper workflow.

Content

No source excerpt is available for this finding.

Unsafe Defaults

Medium
Category
Tool Misuse
Confidence
97% confidence
Finding

Recommending use of requests with verify=False disables TLS certificate validation, making HTTPS connections vulnerable to man-in-the-middle interception and tampering. In this skill's context, that could expose downloaded content, session-related traffic, or Telegram/API communications to spoofing or malicious modification on untrusted networks.

Content

Scanner excerpt · SKILL.md (reported line 205)May include surrounding context.

md
### Problem: SSL certificate errors (Mac)

- **Cause:** macOS SSL issues
- **Fix:** Use `verify=False` in requests calls

### Problem: Duplicate images

Unsafe Defaults

Medium
Category
Tool Misuse
Confidence
98% confidence
Finding

The notes section repeats guidance to use verify=False, normalizing an insecure default and increasing the likelihood that users will adopt it broadly. Disabling certificate verification removes core HTTPS authenticity guarantees and can enable interception, content substitution, and credential exposure.

Content

Scanner excerpt · SKILL.md (reported line 243)May include surrounding context.

md
## Notes

- Pinterest loads dynamically - scrolling required for more images
- Use `verify=False` for requests (Mac SSL issues)
- State saved to `.scrape_state.json` for resume
- Telegram limited to 100 images per batch
- Verbose mode writes detailed logs to `scrape.log`

Missing User Warnings

Medium
Category
Not specified by scanner
Confidence
98% confidence
Finding

TLS certificate verification is explicitly disabled for image downloads with verify=False, which permits man-in-the-middle interception or content tampering by any network attacker controlling the connection path. Because the script then writes the received bytes directly to disk, users may unknowingly store attacker-modified content while believing it came from the intended host.

Content

No source excerpt is available for this finding.

Unsafe Defaults

Medium
Category
Tool Misuse
Confidence
99% confidence
Finding

Using verify=False establishes an unsafe default by disabling a core transport security control for every image download. In this scraper context, which fetches many remote resources automatically, the weakened default materially increases exposure to interception, spoofing, and corrupted downloads at scale.

Content

Scanner excerpt · scripts/scrape_pinterest.py (reported line 169)May include surrounding context.

python
logger.debug(f"Skipped (already downloaded): {img_url[:50]}...")
                    continue
                filename = img_url.split("/")[-1][:60]
                r = requests.get(img_url, timeout=15, verify=False)
                if r.status_code == 200:
                    filepath = f"{self.output_folder}/{i:04d}_{self.quality}_{filename}"
                    with open(filepath, "wb") as f:

Context-Inappropriate Capability

Medium
Category
Not specified by scanner
Confidence
95% confidence
Finding

With no manifest available, the only stated purpose comes from the module docstring, which describes a Pinterest scraper. The send_to_telegram feature adds a separate outbound data-transfer capability that is not required to scrape or download Pinterest images and therefore is unjustified by the stated purpose in the code documentation.

Content

No source excerpt is available for this finding.

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/scrape_pinterest.py (reported line 214)May include surrounding context.

python
media = [{"type": "photo", "media": f"attach://{f}"} for f in batch]
            file_data = {f: open(f"{self.output_folder}/{f}", 'rb') for f in batch}
            try:
                r = requests.post(f"https://api.telegram.org/bot{self.token}/sendMediaGroup",
                                data={"chat_id": self.chat_id, "media": json.dumps(media)},
                                files=file_data, timeout=60)
                if r.status_code == 200:

Missing User Warnings

Medium
Category
Not specified by scanner
Confidence
88% confidence
Finding

When Telegram mode is enabled, the script posts downloaded image files and chat metadata to the Telegram Bot API. The code has operational logging, but it does not provide a clear user-facing warning in help text, comments, or docstrings that local files will be sent to an external service.

Content

No source excerpt is available for this finding.

Missing User Warnings

Low
Category
Not specified by scanner
Confidence
82% confidence
Finding

The document describes output folders, logging, and resume support, but it does not explicitly warn that running the skill will create local files such as downloaded images, scrape.log, and .scrape_state.json. For markdown guidance, behaviors that affect user data or system state should be disclosed clearly rather than implied only through examples and feature lists.

Content

No source excerpt is available for this finding.

Static analysis

No suspicious patterns detected.