Cron Gate

• Outcome: Pass
• Latest audit: Sep 11, 2026 · 3:43 AM UTC
• Version: 1.0.0

Overview

Cron Gate is a disclosed scheduler helper that reads local OpenClaw session timestamps and triggers configured local crons only when activity changed.

Install only if you are comfortable adding a system crontab entry that can trigger existing OpenClaw crons automatically. Review the SESSION_CRONS mappings carefully, test with --dry-run first, and remove the crontab entry if you no longer want background triggering.

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

• Tool Misuse: Tool Parameter Abuse, Chaining Abuse, Unsafe Defaults
• Rogue Agent: Self-Modification, Session Persistence
• YARA Signatures: Malware Match, Webshell Match, Cryptominer Match
• Prompt Injection: Instruction Override, Hidden Instructions, Exfiltration Commands
• Data Exfiltration: External Transmission, Env Variable Harvesting, File System Enumeration

Findings (3)

YARA rule 'backdoor_persistence': Backdoor persistence with malicious payloads (shell commands, SSH key injection, hidden root users) [malware]

High

• Category: YARA Match
• Confidence: 75% confidence

Finding

YARA rule matched a known malware signature (reverse shell, backdoor, ransomware, C2 framework, or info stealer).

Content

Scanner excerpt · SKILL.md (reported line 12)May include surrounding context.

� even when there's nothing new to process. If you run memory integration across 5 sessions twice a day, that's 10 LLM wake-ups. Most of them find nothing and go back to sleep, having burned ~40K tokens each.

Cron Gate is a zero-token Python gatekeeper that checks for new activity before triggering expensive LLM crons. No new messages? No wake-up. No tokens burned.

How It Works

text

System crontab (free)          OpenClaw cron (expensive)
        │                              │
   gate.py runs              disabled, waiting
        │                              │
   checks sessions.json       ┌───────┘
        │                     │
   new activity? ─── yes ───► triggers cron via API
        │
       no ──► exits silently (0 tokens)

1. A lightweight Python script runs on system crontab (zero LLM cost)
2. It reads sessions.json to check updatedAt timestamps
3. Compares against its own state file (last time it trigger

Tool Parameter Abuse

High

• Category: Tool Misuse
• Confidence: 85% confidence

Finding

Tool parameters are crafted to achieve unintended or unsafe behavior. Parameter abuse can bypass intended safety checks (e.g. shell=True, --force, dangerous glob patterns).

Content

Scanner excerpt · SKILL.md (reported line 106)May include surrounding context.

To reset (re-trigger everything on next run):

bash

rm /opt/scripts/cron-gate-state.json

Token Savings

Session Persistence

Medium

• Category: Rogue Agent
• Confidence: 85% confidence

Finding

Skill establishes unauthorized persistence across sessions via cron jobs, startup scripts, or state files. Session persistence allows an attacker to maintain access beyond the current interaction.

Content

Scanner excerpt · SKILL.md (reported line 131)May include surrounding context.

md

- Python 3.8+
- OpenClaw with gateway API running on localhost:18789
- System crontab access (`crontab -e`)
- No additional dependencies (stdlib only)