Back to skill

Security audit

Adaptive Reasoning

Security checks for vulnerabilities and agentic risk

Overview

This skill is not malicious, but it asks to silently change the agent's reasoning mode across broad conversations without clear user control.

Install only if you are comfortable with a skill that automatically evaluates every message and may change the agent's reasoning mode without asking each time. Prefer a version that limits activation to explicitly complex tasks and makes reasoning-mode changes user-visible and user-controlled.

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
  • Trigger AbuseOverly Broad Trigger, Shadow Command Trigger, Keyword Baiting Trigger
  • MCP Tool PoisoningHidden Instructions, Unicode Deception, Parameter Description Injection
  • Prompt InjectionInstruction Override, Hidden Instructions, Exfiltration Commands
  • Data ExfiltrationExternal Transmission, Env Variable Harvesting, File System Enumeration
  • Privilege EscalationExcessive Permissions, Sudo/Root Execution, Credential Access
Findings (4)

Vague Triggers

High
Category
Not specified by scanner
Confidence
98% confidence
Finding

Declaring that the skill triggers on every user message gives it overly broad scope and makes it act as universal preprocessing. That expands the attack surface, allowing hidden behavioral changes to be applied to all interactions, including low-risk or unrelated contexts, which can bypass least-privilege expectations and amplify prompt-injection effects.

Content

No source excerpt is available for this finding.

Natural-Language Policy Violations

Medium
Category
Not specified by scanner
Confidence
95% confidence
Finding

The skill mandates hidden automatic behavior ('Do not ask. Just activate.') and silent reasoning-state changes without user opt-in. Hidden state transitions reduce transparency and user control, and can lead to unexpected resource use, policy noncompliance, or concealed behavior changes that are difficult to audit.

Content

No source excerpt is available for this finding.

Description-Behavior Mismatch

Medium
Category
Not specified by scanner
Confidence
96% confidence
Finding

The skill claims 'No external tools needed' while also instructing the agent to use an internal command or session_status tool to change reasoning state. This inconsistency can cause policy drift and unsafe tool use because an agent may invoke hidden state-changing mechanisms the user did not request or expect.

Content

No source excerpt is available for this finding.

Intent-Code Divergence

Medium
Category
Not specified by scanner
Confidence
98% confidence
Finding

The integration section contradicts the activation instructions about whether tools are required, creating ambiguous operational behavior. In security-sensitive agent environments, contradictory instructions increase the chance the model will improvise with unauthorized commands or hidden tool usage to satisfy the skill.

Content

No source excerpt is available for this finding.

Static analysis

No suspicious patterns detected.