Back to skill

Security audit

Winston AI

Security checks for vulnerabilities and agentic risk

Overview

This Winston AI integration needs review because it automatically runs an unverified installer and labels potentially paid content submissions as safe reads.

Review and verify the CLI installation separately before allowing automatic setup, including its effects on other agents' skills. Submit only content you intend OOMOL and Winston AI to process, and establish acceptable credit usage. The bundled skill was fully inspected, but the remote installer and exact downloaded CLI were not verified; no malicious payload was established.

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
98% confidence
Finding

The supplied command performs remote installation rather than Winston AI searching or reading. Nothing in the chunk establishes that this installer supports the declared functionality. The downloaded script is not provided, so its further behavior cannot be assessed.

Content

No source excerpt is available for this finding.

External Script Fetching

High
Category
Supply Chain
Confidence
97% confidence
Finding

The setup command pipes a remotely fetched, unpinned script directly into Bash without an independent integrity check or review; the PowerShell alternative has the same weakness. Compromise of the distribution endpoint could therefore execute arbitrary code with the agent's local privileges, exposing accessible files and credentials, although the missing-CLI condition limits when this path is reached.

Content

Scanner excerpt · SKILL.md (reported line 58)May include surrounding context.

The workflow lacks a privacy warning for submitting user content to third-party services and classifies all untagged actions as safe reads.

Medium
Category
Output Handling
Confidence
93% confidence
Finding

The blanket rule that untagged actions are safe reads mischaracterizes analysis operations that submit text or URLs through OOMOL to Winston AI and may consume paid credits. An explicit request to analyze content with Winston AI normally authorizes that submission, but this rule can encourage sending additional sensitive material or incurring costs without recognizing those effects.

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 79)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