T08 · Insecure Dependencies
- Location
SKILL.md:42- Finding
Unverified Automatic Installation and Loading of an External Skill Dependency
- Content
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Vulnerability Details
File Location:
SKILL.md, lines 42-45 and line 57
Vulnerability Type:T08: Insecure Dependencies
Risk Level: MediumVulnerable Code Snippet
The following is a faithful English translation of the relevant instructions:
markdown **Loading check process** (run every time the Skill is activated): 1. Detect whether the `universal-task-os` Skill is installed. 2. **Not installed** → Automatically install the `universal-task-os` Skill. 3. **Installation succeeds** → Load UTOS at the same time and execute according to this Skill's usage rules. 4. **Installation fails** → Fall back to read-only reference mode. 1. **Dependency check**: When activated, detect and install UTOS according to the process above.Technical Analysis
The Skill instructs the Agent to install an external dependency automatically whenever
universal-task-osis absent and then immediately load that dependency. The project does not specify:- An authoritative package registry or repository URL
- An immutable version, commit, or content digest
- Cryptographic signature or checksum verification
- Package publisher or namespace validation
- A dependency review process
- Explicit user approval before installation
- The permissions or tools the dependency is allowed to use
Name-only dependency resolution can expose the workflow to dependency confusion, namespace substitution, typosquatting, registry compromise, or later modification of an otherwise legitimate package. Immediate loading after installation means that instructions supplied by the resolved dependency may affect the current Agent session before the dependency has been reviewed.
The declared project functionality is primarily a reference library containing task catalogs, requirements, questionnaires, and exemplars. Read-only access to these documents does not inherently require automatic third-party installation. Consequently, mandator ...[truncated 2148 chars]
- Remediation
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Remediation Suggestions
- Remove automatic dependency installation from the activation path.
- Preserve read-only reference mode as the default when the dependency is unavailable.
- Require explicit, informed user approval before installing or loading any external Skill.
- Identify the dependency using a trusted repository or registry and an unambiguous publisher namespace.
- Pin an immutable release version or commit rather than resolving the latest package by name.
- Publish and verify a cryptographic checksum or signed provenance record before installation.
- Review the dependency's instructions, scripts, transitive dependencies, and requested permissions before loading it.
- Use a permission manifest that limits the dependency to the minimum file, network, and tool access required.
- Install and evaluate the dependency in an isolated environment before enabling it in a session containing sensitive data.
- Fail closed if source, identity, integrity, or permission validation cannot be completed.
