T05 · Unauthorized Access and Privilege Escalation
- Location
SKILL.md:179- Finding
Unsafe Recommendation to Execute Operations with Administrator Privileges
- Content
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Vulnerability Details
File Location:
SKILL.md, line 179; duplicated at line 218
Vulnerability Type:T05: Unauthorized Access and Privilege Escalation
Risk Level: MediumComplete snippet translated into English:
markdown | Insufficient permissions | The current user lacks read/write permissions | Check file permissions and run as administrator |The skill also declares access to command execution:
yaml tools: - read - execTechnical Analysis
The troubleshooting guidance recommends running with administrator privileges whenever the current user lacks file read or write access. This is an overly broad response to a routine permissions error and violates the principle of least privilege.
Algorithmic-art generation does not ordinarily require system-wide privileges. Permission failures should instead be resolved by selecting a user-owned output directory, correcting permissions only on the required project resources, or requesting narrowly scoped user approval.
The risk is increased by the skill's declaration of the unrestricted
execcapability. Although the package contains no scripts or concrete commands that automatically elevate privileges, an agent following this guidance could retry an unspecified command or processing operation in an elevated context. User-controlled filenames, paths, parameters, or generated command arguments would consequently be handled with administrator authority.The same unsafe recommendation appears twice, at lines 179 and 218, reinforcing it as general recovery guidance rather than a narrowly documented exceptional procedure.
Attack Path
- An attacker or untrusted input causes the skill workflow to access a protected file or output directory.
- The operation fails because the current account lacks read or write permission.
- The skill's troubleshooting instructions advise retrying the operation as an administrator.
- The use ...[truncated 1277 chars]
- Remediation
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Remediation Suggestions
- Remove both recommendations to run with administrator privileges at lines 179 and 218.
- Replace them with least-privilege troubleshooting guidance:
- Verify that the requested path belongs to the intended project workspace.
- Use a user-owned input and output directory.
- Correct permissions only on the specific required file or directory.
- Refuse access to protected system paths unless the task explicitly and legitimately requires it.
- Require explicit, informed user confirmation before any privileged operation. The confirmation should display the exact command, affected paths, purpose, and expected changes.
- Do not automatically retry failed commands in an elevated context.
- Remove the
exectool declaration if algorithmic-art generation can be completed without shell access. If execution is necessary, define an allowlist of permitted commands and validate all arguments. - Reject shell metacharacters and untrusted path traversal sequences in user-controlled parameters before constructing commands.
- Run generated art tooling in a sandbox or container with a user-owned working directory, restricted filesystem access, no unnecessary network access, and a non-administrator account.
- Add a security test confirming that permission failures produce a safe error rather than elevation instructions.