T08 · Insecure Dependencies
- Location
SKILL.md:124- Finding
Unpinned and Unnecessary Third-Party Dependency Installation
- Content
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Vulnerability Details
File Location:
SKILL.md, line 124
Vulnerability Type: Unpinned third-party dependency installation
Risk Level: MediumVulnerable Code Snippet:
bash pip install requestsTechnical Analysis
The environment setup instructions install
requestswithout pinning an audited version, constraining transitive dependencies, verifying package hashes, or explicitly selecting a trusted package index. Consequently, installation results may change over time and depend on the user's pip configuration.The supplied Python example does not import or use
requests, while the dependency table identifies only the Agent-provided LLM API as required. The installation therefore introduces an avoidable supply-chain attack surface.An attacker who compromises a future package release, a transitive dependency, or a package index configured in the target environment could cause attacker-controlled package code to run during installation or subsequent import. This finding does not establish that the legitimate
requestspackage is malicious; the risk arises from mutable, unverified dependency resolution.Attack Path
- A user follows the documented environment preparation instructions.
- The user runs
pip install requests. - Pip resolves an unspecified version and its transitive dependencies using the environment's configured package indexes.
- A compromised release, dependency, or configured index supplies attacker-controlled package content.
- The malicious component executes during installation or when imported by a subsequent workflow, under the privileges of the user or Agent process.
Impact Assessment
Successful exploitation could execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the process running pip. Depending on those privileges and the environment, this may permit access to project files, user-readable credentials, environment variables, and network resources. It could also modify files or installed Pyt ...[truncated 317 chars]
- Remediation
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Remediation Suggestions
- Remove the installation instruction if
requestsis not required by an implemented workflow. - If it is required, pin an audited version rather than resolving the latest available release.
- Lock all transitive dependencies in a reviewed requirements file.
- Record and enforce cryptographic hashes with pip's
--require-hashesoption. - Use an explicitly configured, trusted package index or an internally controlled package mirror.
- Install dependencies in an isolated virtual environment with minimal operating-system privileges.
- Add automated dependency vulnerability and integrity scanning to the release process.
- Document why the dependency is required and where it is used so unused dependencies can be removed promptly.
- Remove the installation instruction if
