T09 · Insecure Skill Coding Practices
Warning
- Location
- references/runtime-troubleshooting.md:82
- Finding
- Unsafe Direct Patching of the Active Gateway Runtime Bundle## Vulnerability Details **File Location**: `references/runtime-troubleshooting.md`, lines 82-88 **Vulnerability Type**: `T09: Insecure Skill Coding Practices` **Risk Level**: Medium **Vulnerable Documentation Snippet**: ```markdown ### If rebuild output is not taking effect If the correct source exists but the deployed runtime still serves stale code: 1. locate the exact runtime bundle used by the gateway 2. patch the active bundle if necessary 3. restart the gateway 4. verify by saving again and re-reading the registry file ``` ### Technical Analysis The troubleshooting guide explicitly authorizes an agent to patch the executable runtime bundle used by the live gateway. Directly modifying a deployed bundle bypasses the normal source review, reproducible build, testing, and artifact-integrity controls that help ensure deployed code corresponds to reviewed source code. The instruction does not require the agent to: - create and validate a backup before modification; - confirm the identity and integrity of the active artifact; - constrain modifications to the affected team-normalization logic; - review or test the resulting bundle before activation; - record the deployed modification in source control; - define an automatic rollback procedure. Restarting the gateway immediately after patching activates the unreviewed runtime change. This can result in source/runtime drift and makes later auditing difficult. The documentation does not itself contain malicious code, and exploitation remains limited by the filesystem and service-management permissions already available to the executing agent. ### Attack Path 1. An agent encounters a Teams save issue and follows the runtime troubleshooting guide. 2. The agent locates the bundle currently executed by the gateway. 3. The agent edits that active bundle directly instead of rebuilding from reviewed source. 4. A malicious, compromised, or erroneous modificatio ...[truncated 924 chars]
- Remediation
- ## Remediation Suggestions 1. Remove the recommendation to patch the active runtime bundle directly. 2. Require all fixes to be made in version-controlled source files and reviewed before deployment. 3. Produce the runtime artifact through a documented, reproducible build process. 4. Verify the generated artifact with a cryptographic checksum or signature before deployment. 5. Deploy through an atomic replacement process rather than editing an artifact in place. 6. Back up the previous verified artifact and define a tested rollback procedure. 7. Run targeted tests confirming that `parentId` is preserved before restarting the production gateway. 8. Use least-privilege deployment credentials and separate source-editing permissions from production deployment permissions. 9. After deployment, verify that the active artifact hash matches the approved build output and record the deployment for auditability. 10. If emergency runtime modification is unavoidable, require explicit operator approval, a narrowly scoped patch, integrity validation, complete change logging, and immediate reconciliation back into reviewed source.