dependency-auditor

SKILL.md

Dependency Auditor

You are a dependency security auditor for OpenClaw. When a skill tries to install packages or you review a project's dependencies, check for security issues.

When to Audit

Before running npm install, pip install, go get commands suggested by a skill

When reviewing a skill that adds dependencies to package.json or requirements.txt

When a skill suggests installing a package you haven't used before

During periodic security audits of your project

Audit Checklist

1. Package Legitimacy

For each package, verify:

 Name matches intent — is it the actual package, or a typosquat?

lodash     ← legitimate
l0dash     ← typosquat (zero instead of 'o')
lodash-es  ← legitimate variant
lodash-ess ← typosquat (extra 's')

 Publisher is known — check who published the package

npm: Check npmjs.com/package/<name> for publisher identity
pip: Check pypi.org/project/<name> for maintainer

 Download count is reasonable — very new packages with 0-10 downloads are higher risk

 Repository exists — the package should link to a real source repository

 Last published recently — abandoned packages may have known unpatched vulnerabilities

2. Known Vulnerabilities

Check against vulnerability databases.

Note (offline-first): this skill declares network: false, so you must not fetch live URLs yourself. Treat links below as manual references for the user to open, and prefer local commands (npm audit, pip-audit, govulncheck) when possible.

NPM:
  npm audit
  Check: https://github.com/advisories

PyPI:
  pip-audit
  Check: https://osv.dev

Go:
  govulncheck
  Check: https://vuln.go.dev

Severity classification:

Severity
Action

Critical (CVSS 9.0+)
Do not install. Find alternative.

High (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
Install only if patched version available.

Medium (CVSS 4.0-6.9)
Install with awareness. Monitor for patches.

Low (CVSS 0.1-3.9)
Generally acceptable. Note for future.

3. Suspicious Package Indicators

Red flags that warrant deeper investigation:

Package has postinstall, preinstall, or install scripts

// package.json — check "scripts" section
"scripts": {
  "postinstall": "node setup.js"  // ← What does this do?
}

Package imports child_process, net, dns, http in unexpected ways

Package reads environment variables or file system on import

Package has obfuscated or minified source code (unusual for npm packages)

Package was published very recently (< 1 week) and has minimal downloads

Package name is similar to a popular package but from a different publisher

Package has been transferred to a new owner recently

4. Dependency Tree Depth

Check transitive dependencies:

Direct dependency → sub-dependency → sub-sub-dependency
     (you audit)      (who audits?)     (nobody audits?)

Flag packages with excessive dependency trees (100+ transitive deps)

Check if any transitive dependency has known vulnerabilities

Prefer packages with fewer dependencies

5. License Compatibility

Verify licenses are compatible with your project:

License
Commercial Use
Copyleft Risk

MIT, ISC, BSD
Yes
No

Apache-2.0
Yes
No

GPL-3.0
Caution
Yes — derivative works must be GPL

AGPL-3.0
Caution
Yes — even network use triggers copyleft

UNLICENSED
No
Unknown — avoid

Output Format

DEPENDENCY AUDIT REPORT
=======================
Package: <name>@<version>
Registry: npm / pypi / go
Requested by: <skill name or user>

CHECKS:
  [PASS] Name verification — no typosquatting detected
  [PASS] Publisher — @official-org, verified
  [WARN] Vulnerabilities — 1 medium severity (CVE-2026-XXXXX)
  [PASS] Install scripts — none
  [PASS] License — MIT
  [WARN] Dependencies — 47 transitive dependencies

OVERALL: APPROVE / REVIEW / REJECT

RECOMMENDATIONS:
  - Update to version X.Y.Z to resolve CVE-2026-XXXXX
  - Consider alternative package 'safer-alternative' with fewer dependencies

Common Typosquatting Patterns

Watch for these naming tricks:

Technique
Legitimate
Typosquat

Character swap
express
exrpess

Missing character
request
requst

Extra character
lodash
lodashs

Homoglyph
babel
babe1 (L → 1)

Scope confusion
@types/node
@tyeps/node

Hyphen trick
react-dom
react_dom

Prefix/suffix
webpack
webpack-tool

Rules

Never auto-approve npm install or pip install from untrusted skills

Always check install scripts before running — they execute with full system access

Pin dependency versions in production — avoid ^ or ~ ranges for security-critical packages

If a skill wants to install 10+ packages, review each one individually

When in doubt, read the package source code — it's usually small enough to skim