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Security audit

Cohere

Security checks for vulnerabilities and agentic risk

Overview

This Cohere helper needs review because setup executes changeable remote code and its dependency can install persistent skills into other agent applications.

Review the CLI installation before allowing automatic setup. Use a verified release, check which additional agent skills it installs, and consider disabling startup skill synchronization with OO_SKILLS_SYNC_DISABLED=1 before connector calls. Send only content you authorize OOMOL and Cohere to process. The bundled skill was fully inspected, but remote installer contents and live connector implementations were not verified.

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
  • Supply ChainUnpinned Dependencies, External Script Fetching, Obfuscated Code
  • Excessive AgencyUnrestricted Tool Access, Autonomous Decision Making, Scope Creep
  • Output HandlingUnvalidated Output Injection, Cross-Context Output, Unbounded Output
  • MCP Tool PoisoningHidden Instructions, Unicode Deception, Parameter Description Injection
  • Prompt InjectionInstruction Override, Hidden Instructions, Exfiltration Commands
Findings (4)

Description-Behavior Mismatch

High
Category
MCP Tool Poisoning
Confidence
96% confidence
Finding

The supplied code installs software from an Oomol-hosted endpoint rather than performing any visible Cohere operation. Dependency installation can be a supporting implementation detail, but this chunk establishes no relationship between the installer and the declared Cohere functionality. The remote script's contents and further effects cannot be determined from the supplied code.

Content

No source excerpt is available for this finding.

External Script Fetching

High
Category
Supply Chain
Confidence
98% confidence
Finding

The setup command pipes a mutable remote script directly into bash without a pinned version, integrity verification, or review; the PowerShell alternative has the same execution pattern. Although this is a legitimate dependency-installation step triggered only when the CLI is missing, compromise of the distribution endpoint or release pipeline could execute arbitrary commands with the agent's local privileges and expose accessible files or credentials.

Content

Scanner excerpt · SKILL.md (reported line 57)May include surrounding context.

The workflow sends user content to third-party services without a privacy warning and labels untagged actions safe to run directly.

Medium
Category
Output Handling
Confidence
95% confidence
Finding

The workflow instructs the agent to execute Cohere actions through OOMOL, including chat and document reranking, which transmit supplied prompts, queries, or documents to external services. Although the integration is identified, there is no warning about this disclosure, and the safety guidance treats untagged actions as reads that are safe to run directly.

Content

No source excerpt is available for this finding.

Autonomous Decision Making

Medium
Category
Excessive Agency
Confidence
80% confidence
Finding

Skill enables autonomous high-impact decisions without human-in-the-loop verification. Critical operations (destructive commands, financial transactions, data deletion) should require explicit user confirmation.

Content

Scanner excerpt · SKILL.md (reported line 78)May include surrounding context.

md
- **`OOMOL_INSUFFICIENT_CREDIT`** — OOMOL billing stop. Recharge at `https://console.oomol.com/billing/token-recharge` before retrying.

- **HTTP 402 without `OOMOL_INSUFFICIENT_CREDIT`** — the third-party account itself has no active plan or credit. Report the provider error message as is; do not ask the user to recharge OOMOL.

## Resources