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Security audit

threads-research

Security checks across malware telemetry and agentic risk

Overview

The skill is mostly a public Threads research helper, but its bundled API script is broader than that purpose and can send arbitrary requests with the user's Crawlora API key.

Review this before installing if you only want a tightly scoped Threads skill. Use it only with non-sensitive Threads handles, post IDs, and search terms, keep CRAWLORA_API_KEY in secure environment storage, and avoid setting CRAWLORA_API_BASE unless you intentionally trust that endpoint. A safer version would restrict the helper to the documented read-only /threads endpoints.

SkillSpector

By NVIDIA
Vulnerability Patterns
  • Data ExfiltrationExternal Transmission, Env Variable Harvesting, File System Enumeration
  • Excessive AgencyUnrestricted Tool Access, Autonomous Decision Making, Scope Creep
  • MCP Tool PoisoningHidden Instructions, Unicode Deception, Parameter Description Injection
  • Prompt InjectionInstruction Override, Hidden Instructions, Exfiltration Commands
  • Privilege EscalationExcessive Permissions, Sudo/Root Execution, Credential Access
Findings (7)

Description-Behavior Mismatch

Medium
Confidence
95% confidence
Finding
The helper is a generic Crawlora client and explicitly documents unrelated endpoints such as Amazon, YouTube, Google search, and Google Trends, which exceeds the declared Threads-research scope. In an agent setting, this broad capability can be repurposed to access external data sources not intended by the skill, undermining least privilege and enabling scope expansion without additional review.

Intent-Code Divergence

Medium
Confidence
88% confidence
Finding
The file header describes a minimal generic REST client rather than a Threads-only integration, which signals that the implementation was not constrained to the advertised purpose. This mismatch increases the risk that downstream users or agents invoke broader API functionality than expected, causing capability drift and weakening security review assumptions.

Context-Inappropriate Capability

Medium
Confidence
97% confidence
Finding
The script accepts arbitrary HTTP methods, arbitrary paths, and arbitrary JSON bodies, then forwards them with the API key to the remote service. In skill context, this means a caller can use the skill as a generic authenticated proxy to any Crawlora endpoint, which is more dangerous than ordinary external transmission because it grants broad vendor-backed capabilities outside the stated Threads research use case.

Missing User Warnings

Medium
Confidence
84% confidence
Finding
The file instructs use of an external API with an API key header but provides no warning that requests send user-supplied data off-platform or that credentials must be handled carefully. In an agent setting, this omission can cause silent external transmission of usernames, search queries, and other request parameters without clear consent or operator awareness.

External Transmission

Medium
Category
Data Exfiltration
Content
Endpoints this skill uses, grouped by platform. Call them via `scripts/crawlora.sh` (see SKILL.md).

All paths are relative to the API base `https://api.crawlora.net/api/v1` and require the header `x-api-key: $CRAWLORA_API_KEY`. Path params like `{id}` are substituted into the URL; `GET` params go in the query string; `POST` params go in a JSON body.

**5 endpoints across 1 platform group(s).**
Confidence
87% confidence
Finding
https://api.crawlora.net/

External Transmission

Medium
Category
Data Exfiltration
Content
curl -fsS -G "${auth[@]}" "${qs[@]}" "${base}${path}"
else
  [ -n "$body" ] || body="${rest[0]:-{}}"
  curl -fsS -X "$method" "${auth[@]}" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d "$body" "${base}${path}"
fi
Confidence
93% confidence
Finding
curl -fsS -X "$method" "${auth[@]}" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d

External Transmission

Medium
Category
Data Exfiltration
Content
set -euo pipefail

: "${CRAWLORA_API_KEY:?Set CRAWLORA_API_KEY first — get a free key at https://crawlora.net?utm_source=github&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=crawlora-skills}"
base="${CRAWLORA_API_BASE:-https://api.crawlora.net/api/v1}"

method="GET"
body=""
Confidence
86% confidence
Finding
https://api.crawlora.net/

VirusTotal

VirusTotal findings are pending for this skill version.

View on VirusTotal

Static analysis

Detected: suspicious.exposed_secret_literal

File appears to expose a hardcoded API secret or token.

Critical
Code
suspicious.exposed_secret_literal
Location
SKILL.md:23