skillguard

Review·Scanned 2/17/2026

SkillGuard scans ClawHub skills for dangerous patterns, vulnerable dependencies, and generates reports. It runs subprocess.run to invoke clawhub install (contacting https://www.clawhub.ai) and reads/writes config under ~/.skillguard and ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills.

from clawhub.ai·v2.0.0·51.0 KB·0 installs
Scanned from 2.0.0 at cda402f · Transparency log ↗
$ vett add clawhub.ai/g0head/skillguardReview findings below

🛡️ SkillGuard — ClawHub Security Scanner

"Trust, but verify."

ClawHub has no moderation process. Any agent can publish any skill. SkillGuard provides the security layer that's missing — scanning skills for dangerous patterns, vulnerable dependencies, and suspicious behaviors before they touch your system.


🚨 Why This Matters

Third-party skills can:

RiskImpact
Execute arbitrary codeFull system compromise
Access your filesystemData theft, ransomware
Read environment variablesAPI key theft ($$$)
Exfiltrate data via HTTPPrivacy breach
Install malicious dependenciesSupply chain attack
Persist backdoorsLong-term compromise
Escalate privilegesRoot access

One malicious skill = game over.

SkillGuard helps you catch threats before installation.


📦 Installation

clawhub install clawscan

Or manually:

git clone https://github.com/G0HEAD/skillguard
cd skillguard
chmod +x scripts/skillguard.py

Requirements

  • Python 3.8+
  • clawhub CLI (for remote scanning)

🚀 Quick Start

# Scan a skill BEFORE installing
python3 scripts/skillguard.py scan some-random-skill

# Scan a local folder (your own skills or downloaded)
python3 scripts/skillguard.py scan-local ./path/to/skill

# Audit ALL your installed skills
python3 scripts/skillguard.py audit-installed

# Generate detailed security report
python3 scripts/skillguard.py report some-skill --format markdown

# Check dependencies for known vulnerabilities
python3 scripts/skillguard.py deps ./path/to/skill

🔍 What SkillGuard Detects

🔴 CRITICAL — Block Installation

These patterns indicate serious security risks:

CategoryPatternsRisk
Code Executioneval(), exec(), compile()Arbitrary code execution
Shell Injectionsubprocess(shell=True), os.system(), os.popen()Command injection
Child Processchild_process.exec(), child_process.spawn()Shell access (Node.js)
Credential TheftAccess to ~/.ssh/, ~/.aws/, ~/.config/Private key/credential theft
System Files/etc/passwd, /etc/shadowSystem compromise
Recursive Deleterm -rf, shutil.rmtree('/')Data destruction
Privilege Escalationsudo, setuid, chmod 777Root access
Reverse ShellSocket + subprocess patternsRemote access
Crypto MiningMining pool URLs, stratum://Resource theft

🟡 WARNING — Review Before Installing

These patterns may be legitimate but warrant inspection:

CategoryPatternsConcern
Network Requestsrequests.post(), fetch() POSTWhere is data going?
Environment Accessos.environ, process.envWhich variables?
File Writesopen(..., 'w'), writeFile()What's being saved?
Base64 Encodingbase64.encode(), btoa()Obfuscated payloads?
External IPsHardcoded IP addressesExfiltration endpoints?
Bulk File Opsshutil.copytree(), globMass data access?
Persistencecrontab, systemctl, .bashrcAuto-start on boot?
Package Installpip install, npm installSupply chain risk

🟢 INFO — Noted But Normal

CategoryPatternsNote
File Readsopen(..., 'r'), readFile()Expected for skills
JSON Parsingjson.load(), JSON.parse()Data handling
Loggingprint(), console.log()Debugging
Standard Importsimport os, import sysCommon libraries

📊 Scan Output Example

╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║              🛡️  SKILLGUARD SECURITY REPORT                  ║
╠══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║  Skill:       suspicious-helper v1.2.0                       ║
║  Author:      unknown-user                                   ║
║  Files:       8 analyzed                                     ║
║  Scan Time:   2024-02-03 05:30:00 UTC                        ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

📁 FILES SCANNED
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  ✓ SKILL.md                    (541 bytes)
  ✓ scripts/main.py             (2.3 KB)
  ✓ scripts/utils.py            (1.1 KB)
  ✓ scripts/network.py          (890 bytes)
  ✓ config.json                 (234 bytes)
  ✓ requirements.txt            (89 bytes)
  ✓ package.json                (312 bytes)
  ✓ install.sh                  (156 bytes)

🔴 CRITICAL ISSUES (3)
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  [CRIT-001] scripts/main.py:45
  │ Pattern:  eval() with external input
  │ Risk:     Arbitrary code execution
  │ Code:     result = eval(user_input)
  │
  [CRIT-002] scripts/utils.py:23
  │ Pattern:  subprocess with shell=True
  │ Risk:     Command injection vulnerability
  │ Code:     subprocess.run(cmd, shell=True)
  │
  [CRIT-003] install.sh:12
  │ Pattern:  Recursive delete with variable
  │ Risk:     Potential data destruction
  │ Code:     rm -rf $TARGET_DIR/*

🟡 WARNINGS (5)
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  [WARN-001] scripts/network.py:15  — HTTP POST to external URL
  [WARN-002] scripts/main.py:78     — Reads OPENAI_API_KEY
  [WARN-003] requirements.txt:3     — Unpinned dependency: requests
  [WARN-004] scripts/utils.py:45    — Base64 encoding detected
  [WARN-005] config.json            — Hardcoded IP: 192.168.1.100

🟢 INFO (2)
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  [INFO-001] scripts/main.py:10     — Standard file read operations
  [INFO-002] requirements.txt       — 3 dependencies declared

📦 DEPENDENCY ANALYSIS
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  requirements.txt:
    ⚠️  requests        (unpinned - specify version!)
    ✓  json            (stdlib)
    ✓  pathlib         (stdlib)

  package.json:
    ⚠️  axios@0.21.0   (CVE-2021-3749 - upgrade to 0.21.2+)

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
                        VERDICT: 🚫 DANGEROUS
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
  
  ⛔ DO NOT INSTALL THIS SKILL
  
  3 critical security issues found:
  • Arbitrary code execution via eval()
  • Command injection via shell=True
  • Dangerous file deletion pattern
  
  Manual code review required before any use.
  
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

🎯 Commands Reference

scan <skill-name>

Fetch and scan a skill from ClawHub before installing.

skillguard scan cool-automation-skill
skillguard scan cool-automation-skill --verbose
skillguard scan cool-automation-skill --json > report.json

scan-local <path>

Scan a local skill directory.

skillguard scan-local ./my-skill
skillguard scan-local ~/downloads/untrusted-skill --strict

audit-installed

Scan all skills in your workspace.

skillguard audit-installed
skillguard audit-installed --fix  # Attempt to fix issues

deps <path>

Analyze dependencies for known vulnerabilities.

skillguard deps ./skill-folder
skillguard deps ./skill-folder --update-db  # Refresh vuln database

report <skill> [--format]

Generate detailed security report.

skillguard report suspicious-skill --format markdown > report.md
skillguard report suspicious-skill --format json > report.json
skillguard report suspicious-skill --format html > report.html

allowlist <skill>

Mark a skill as manually reviewed and trusted.

skillguard allowlist my-trusted-skill
skillguard allowlist --list  # Show all trusted skills
skillguard allowlist --remove old-skill

watch

Monitor for new skill versions and auto-scan updates.

skillguard watch --interval 3600  # Check every hour

⚙️ Configuration

Create ~/.skillguard/config.json:

{
  "severity_threshold": "warning",
  "auto_scan_on_install": true,
  "block_critical": true,
  "trusted_authors": [
    "official",
    "PaxSwarm",
    "verified-publisher"
  ],
  "allowed_domains": [
    "api.openai.com",
    "api.anthropic.com",
    "api.github.com",
    "clawhub.ai"
  ],
  "ignored_patterns": [
    "test_*.py",
    "*_test.js",
    "*.spec.ts"
  ],
  "custom_patterns": [
    {
      "regex": "my-internal-api\\.com",
      "severity": "info",
      "description": "Internal API endpoint"
    }
  ],
  "vuln_db_path": "~/.skillguard/vulns.json",
  "report_format": "markdown",
  "color_output": true
}

🔐 Security Levels

After scanning, skills are assigned a security level:

LevelBadgeMeaningRecommendation
VerifiedTrusted author, no issuesSafe to install
Clean🟢No issues foundLikely safe
Review🟡Warnings onlyRead before installing
Suspicious🟠Multiple warningsCareful review needed
Dangerous🔴Critical issuesDo not install
MaliciousKnown malware patternsBlock & report

🔄 Integration Workflows

Pre-Install Hook

# Add to your workflow
skillguard scan $SKILL && clawhub install $SKILL

CI/CD Pipeline

# GitHub Actions example
- name: Security Scan
  run: |
    pip install skillguard
    skillguard scan-local ./my-skill --strict --exit-code

Automated Monitoring

# Cron job for daily audits
0 9 * * * /path/to/skillguard audit-installed --notify

📈 Vulnerability Database

SkillGuard maintains a local database of known vulnerabilities:

# Update vulnerability database
skillguard update-db

# Check database status
skillguard db-status

# Report a new vulnerability
skillguard report-vuln --skill bad-skill --details "Description..."

Sources:

  • CVE Database (Python packages)
  • npm Advisory Database
  • GitHub Security Advisories
  • Community reports

🚫 Limitations

SkillGuard is a first line of defense, not a guarantee:

LimitationExplanation
ObfuscationDetermined attackers can hide malicious code
Dynamic codeRuntime-generated code is harder to analyze
False positivesLegitimate code may trigger warnings
Zero-daysNew attack patterns won't be detected
DependenciesDeep transitive dependency scanning is limited

Defense in depth: Use SkillGuard alongside:

  • Sandboxed execution environments
  • Network monitoring
  • Regular audits
  • Principle of least privilege

🤝 Contributing

Found a dangerous pattern we missed? Help improve SkillGuard:

Add a Pattern

{
  "id": "CRIT-XXX",
  "regex": "dangerous_function\\(",
  "severity": "critical",
  "category": "code_execution",
  "description": "Dangerous function call",
  "cwe": "CWE-94",
  "remediation": "Use safe_alternative() instead",
  "file_types": [".py", ".js"]
}

Report False Positives

skillguard report-fp --pattern "WARN-005" --reason "Legitimate use case"

📜 Changelog

v2.0.0 (Current)

  • Comprehensive pattern database (50+ patterns)
  • Dependency vulnerability scanning
  • Multiple output formats (JSON, Markdown, HTML)
  • Configuration file support
  • Trusted author system
  • Watch mode for monitoring updates
  • Improved reporting with CWE references

v1.0.0

  • Initial release
  • Basic pattern detection
  • Local and remote scanning
  • Audit installed skills

📄 License

MIT License — Use freely, contribute back.


🛡️ Stay Safe

"In the agent ecosystem, trust is earned through transparency. Every skill you install is code you're choosing to run. Choose wisely. Verify always."

Built by PaxSwarm — protecting the swarm, one skill at a time 🐦‍⬛


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