T09 · Insecure Skill Coding Practices
- Location
SKILL.md:546- Finding
TLS Certificate Verification Can Be Disabled
- Content
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Vulnerability Details
File Location:
SKILL.md, lines 546–548
Vulnerability Type: Insecure TLS configuration
Risk Level: Highbash # Disable SSL verification (not recommended) export KOJI_SSL_VERIFY=0Technical Analysis
The Skill documents an environment variable that disables SSL/TLS certificate verification for Koji connections. Although the accompanying comment states that this is not recommended, an agent or user may still execute the command while following the configuration guidance.
Certificate verification establishes that the client is communicating with the intended Koji server. Disabling it can cause the client to accept a certificate supplied by an untrusted or impersonated endpoint. HTTPS encryption alone does not prevent this attack when peer identity validation is disabled.
Attack Path
- A user or agent follows the Skill and exports
KOJI_SSL_VERIFY=0. - The Koji client subsequently connects without validating the server certificate.
- An attacker with a suitable network position intercepts or redirects the connection.
- The attacker presents an arbitrary certificate and impersonates the configured Koji endpoint.
- The attacker observes or modifies Koji requests and responses, potentially manipulating authenticated build-system operations.
Successful exploitation requires the insecure setting to remain active and the attacker to gain an appropriate network or traffic-redirection position.
Impact Assessment
A successful man-in-the-middle attack could compromise the confidentiality and integrity of Koji communications. Depending on the authentication mechanism and operations performed, the attacker could observe sensitive session traffic, falsify server responses, redirect build activity, or modify administrative requests in transit.
The resulting scope is bounded by the permissions of the authenticated Koji identity. This instruction does not independently grant local system privileges or establis ...[truncated 14 chars]
- A user or agent follows the Skill and exports
- Remediation
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Remediation Suggestions
Remove the instruction to disable TLS verification. Diagnose connection failures without weakening server authentication:
- Install and configure the correct trusted CA certificate.
- Verify that the configured Koji hostname matches the certificate identity.
- Correct expired certificates and inaccurate system time.
- Keep certificate verification enabled for all production and authenticated connections.
- If insecure verification must be retained for an isolated test environment, clearly prohibit production use, constrain it to a dedicated non-sensitive endpoint, and immediately unset the variable afterward:
bash unset KOJI_SSL_VERIFY- Add an explicit validation step confirming that the Koji endpoint presents a trusted certificate before performing build or administrative operations.