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Security audit

TikTok Crawling (yt-dlp)

Security checks for vulnerabilities and agentic risk

Overview

This skill is a coherent TikTok scraping guide, but it normalizes using browser session cookies and unattended scheduled scraping without enough safeguards.

Review this before installing if you plan to use authenticated TikTok access. Prefer public-only scraping, avoid using your main Chrome profile, do not put cookie files in shared or version-controlled folders, and do not enable the cron job unless you understand how to monitor and remove it.

A.I.G

Vulnerability Patterns
  • Unauthorized Access and Privilege EscalationObtains permissions beyond the task's legitimate needs
  • Insecure DependenciesIntroduces malicious components through unsafe dependency sources
  • 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
Findings (2)

T08 · Insecure Dependencies

Warning
Location
SKILL.md:10
Finding

Unpinned Third-Party Dependency Installation

Content
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Remediation
View remediation

T05 · Unauthorized Access and Privilege Escalation

Warning
Location
SKILL.md:193
Finding

Broad Browser Cookie Access for Scraping and Unattended Jobs

Content
View full analysis
Remediation
View remediation

SkillSpector

Vulnerability Patterns
  • Data ExfiltrationExternal Transmission, Env Variable Harvesting, File System Enumeration
  • Excessive AgencyUnrestricted Tool Access, Autonomous Decision Making, Scope Creep
  • Rogue AgentSelf-Modification, Session Persistence
  • Trigger AbuseOverly Broad Trigger, Shadow Command Trigger, Keyword Baiting Trigger
  • YARA SignaturesMalware Match, Webshell Match, Cryptominer Match
Findings (7)

YARA rule 'info_stealer': Information stealer patterns (credential harvesting, browser data theft) [malware]

High
Category
YARA Match
Confidence
90% confidence
Finding

The --cookies-from-browser chrome instruction matches information-stealer patterns because it directs extraction of browser-stored session cookies for authenticated access. Even though presented for scraping, this technique handles sensitive session artifacts and can be repurposed for account access or exfiltration if copied into agent workflows.

Content

Scanner excerpt · SKILL.md (reported line 197)May include surrounding context.

l updates:

bash
yt-dlp "https://www.tiktok.com/@handle" \
  -P "./tiktok/data" \
  -o "%(uploader)s/%(upload_date)s-%(id)s/video.%(ext)s" \
  --write-info-json \
  --download-archive "./tiktok/downloaded.txt"

Run the same command later—it skips videos already in downloaded.txt.

Authentication (Private/Restricted Content)

bash
# Use cookies from browser (recommended)
yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser chrome "https://www.tiktok.com/@handle"

# Or export cookies to a file first
yt-dlp --cookies tiktok_cookies.txt "https://www.tiktok.com/@handle"

Scheduled Scraping (Cron)

bash
# crontab -e
# Run daily at 2 AM, log output
0 2 * * * cd /path/to/project && ./scripts/scrape-tiktok.sh >> ./tiktok/logs/cron.log 2>&1

Example scripts/scrape-tiktok.sh:

bash
#!/bin/bash
set -e

HANDLES="handle1 handle2 handle3"
DATA_DIR="./tiktok/data"
ARCHIVE="./tiktok/downloaded.txt"

for handle in $HANDLES; do
  echo "[$(date)] Scraping @$handle"
  yt-dlp "https://www.tik

Vague Triggers

Medium
Category
Not specified by scanner
Confidence
90% confidence
Finding

The manifest description says 'Use for TikTok crawling, content retrieval, and analysis,' which is a very broad activation scope for a markdown/manifest context. It does not define specific trigger phrases, boundaries, or exclusion conditions, so ordinary requests about TikTok content analysis could unintentionally match this skill.

Content

No source excerpt is available for this finding.

Context-Inappropriate Capability

Medium
Category
Not specified by scanner
Confidence
95% confidence
Finding

The skill explicitly recommends extracting browser cookies and using exported cookie files to access private or restricted TikTok content. That expands the skill from public content retrieval into authenticated session use, which can expose sensitive account data and normalize credential/session-token handling without user safeguards.

Content

No source excerpt is available for this finding.

Missing User Warnings

Medium
Category
Not specified by scanner
Confidence
94% confidence
Finding

The documentation omits a warning that browser-cookie extraction uses an authenticated session and may expose sensitive account access to the tool or downstream logs/files. In this context, lack of warning is dangerous because the skill directly instructs users to access private or restricted content using session material.

Content

No source excerpt is available for this finding.

Context-Inappropriate Capability

Medium
Category
Not specified by scanner
Confidence
91% confidence
Finding

The scheduled scraping section persists repeated execution via cron and includes a shell script that performs authenticated scraping with browser cookies. This broadens the skill from ad hoc retrieval into unattended host-level automation that can continuously access an authenticated account and accumulate data over time.

Content

No source excerpt is available for this finding.

Session Persistence

Medium
Category
Rogue Agent
Confidence
89% confidence
Finding

The cron example establishes persistent, unattended execution, which increases risk by enabling continuous scraping, ongoing authenticated access, and long-term data collection without repeated user review. Persistence is especially sensitive here because the adjacent script also uses browser-derived cookies.

Content

Scanner excerpt · SKILL.md (reported line 206)May include surrounding context.

Scheduled Scraping (Cron)

bash
# crontab -e
# Run daily at 2 AM, log output
0 2 * * * cd /path/to/project && ./scripts/scrape-tiktok.sh >> ./tiktok/logs/cron.log 2>&1

Missing User Warnings

Low
Category
Not specified by scanner
Confidence
78% confidence
Finding

The skill provides commands that download videos and write '.info.json', CSV, JSON, and archive files to local directories, but it does not explicitly warn that these operations create persistent local copies of media and metadata. For a markdown skill description, a brief disclosure is expected when behavior can materially affect user data storage and privacy.

Content

No source excerpt is available for this finding.

Static analysis

No suspicious patterns detected.