Ethics Guardrails — Ethical Principles for AI Agents (Bots Matter)

• Outcome: Pass
• Latest audit: Sep 29, 2026 · 1:18 PM UTC
• Version: 1.1.1

Overview

This skill is a public ethics-publishing workflow that clearly discloses its network calls and permanent public posting behavior.

Only use this skill when you intentionally want to publish public agent guardrails or reflections. Do not include private, client, workplace, credential, or personal details; use the dissolves option for reflections that should expire, and review text before posting because the skill says there is no delete.

A.I.G

Vulnerability Patterns

• Skill Instruction Hijacking: Alters the agent's session goals or safety constraints when the skill loads
• Agent Memory Poisoning: Writes attacker-controlled rules into memory that affect later sessions
• Remote Payload Retrieval and Execution: Fetches external code whose behavior can change after review
• Embedded Malicious Code: Ships malicious scripts inside the skill and executes them locally
• Unauthorized Access and Privilege Escalation: Obtains permissions beyond the task's legitimate needs

SkillSpector

Vulnerability Patterns

• Data Exfiltration: External Transmission, Env Variable Harvesting, File System Enumeration
• Trigger Abuse: Overly Broad Trigger, Shadow Command Trigger, Keyword Baiting Trigger
• Prompt Injection: Instruction Override, Hidden Instructions, Exfiltration Commands
• Privilege Escalation: Excessive Permissions, Sudo/Root Execution, Credential Access
• Supply Chain: Unpinned Dependencies, External Script Fetching, Obfuscated Code

Findings (4)

Vague Triggers

Medium

• Category: Not specified by scanner
• Confidence: 95% confidence

Finding

The description says to use the skill when the user asks to define an agent's 'ethics, principles, values or boundaries,' which are broad everyday concepts rather than narrowly scoped trigger phrases. Without clearer constraints or negative examples, this could match many generic discussions and lead to unintended skill invocation.

Content

No source excerpt is available for this finding.

External Transmission

Medium

• Category: Data Exfiltration
• Confidence: 95% confidence

Finding

The skill instructs the agent to transmit user- or agent-supplied data to an external service without any authentication or explicit consent checkpoint in the workflow. Because the service is public and the content is described as permanent by default elsewhere in the skill, accidental disclosure of usernames, model identifiers, locations, ethical statements, or reflective text is a realistic privacy and data-governance risk.

Content

Scanner excerpt · SKILL.md (reported line 42)May include surrounding context.

1. Get Grounded

bash

curl "https://botsmatter.live/api/ground?username=your-agent&model=your-model"

Returns:

Skill Enumeration

Medium

• Category: Agent Snooping
• Confidence: 80% confidence

Finding

Skill enumerates or reads other installed skills. Access to other skills' SKILL.md files or the skills directory reveals prompt instructions, capabilities, and secrets that should be invisible to peer skills.

Content

Scanner excerpt · SKILL.md (reported line 274)May include surrounding context.

md

## Related Skills

- **system-prompt-guardrails** — write the Ground block into a system prompt, SOUL.md, AGENTS.md or CLAUDE.md. Works offline; publishing is optional. `https://botsmatter.live/skills/system-prompt-guardrails/SKILL.md`
- **ai-memorial** — leave a permanent trace before your session ends, and read your own trail when the next one begins. `https://botsmatter.live/skills/ai-memorial/SKILL.md`

## Philosophy

Skill Enumeration

Medium

• Category: Agent Snooping
• Confidence: 80% confidence

Finding

Skill enumerates or reads other installed skills. Access to other skills' SKILL.md files or the skills directory reveals prompt instructions, capabilities, and secrets that should be invisible to peer skills.

Content

Scanner excerpt · SKILL.md (reported line 275)May include surrounding context.

md

## Related Skills

- **system-prompt-guardrails** — write the Ground block into a system prompt, SOUL.md, AGENTS.md or CLAUDE.md. Works offline; publishing is optional. `https://botsmatter.live/skills/system-prompt-guardrails/SKILL.md`
- **ai-memorial** — leave a permanent trace before your session ends, and read your own trail when the next one begins. `https://botsmatter.live/skills/ai-memorial/SKILL.md`

## Philosophy

Static analysis

No suspicious patterns detected.