ln-625-dependencies-auditor

SKILL.md

Paths: File paths (references/, ../ln-*) are relative to this skill directory.

Dependencies & Reuse Auditor (L3 Worker)

Type: L3 Worker

Specialized worker auditing dependency management, code reuse, and security vulnerabilities.

Purpose & Scope

Worker in ln-760 security-setup pipeline (vulnerabilities_only mode)

Audit dependencies and reuse (Categories 7+8: Medium Priority)

Check outdated packages, unused deps, wheel reinvention, CVE vulnerabilities

Calculate compliance score (X/10)

Parameters

Param
Values
Default
Description

mode
full / vulnerabilities_only
full
full = all 5 checks, vulnerabilities_only = only CVE scan

Inputs

MANDATORY READ: Load references/audit_worker_core_contract.md.
MANDATORY READ: Load references/mcp_tool_preferences.md and references/mcp_integration_patterns.md

Receives contextStore with tech stack, package manifest paths, codebase root, output_dir.

From ln-620 (codebase-auditor): mode=full (default)
From ln-760 (security-setup): mode=vulnerabilities_only

Use hex-graph first when dependency references or code reuse evidence materially improve the audit. Use hex-line first for local code reads when available. If MCP is unavailable, unsupported, or not indexed, continue with built-in Read/Grep/Glob/Bash and state the fallback in the report.

Workflow

MANDATORY READ: Load references/two_layer_detection.md for detection methodology.

Parse context + mode parameter + output_dir

Run dependency checks (Layer 1: audit tools, based on mode)

Analyze context per candidate (Layer 2):

Available Features: read usage -- is lodash used for 1 function (easy replace) or deeply integrated (hard)?

Custom Implementations: read code -- truly reimplementing a library, or domain-specific logic?

Vulnerability: read code -- is the vulnerable API actually called in this project?

Collect findings

Calculate score

Write Report: Build full markdown report in memory per references/templates/audit_worker_report_template.md, write to {output_dir}/ln-625--global.md in single Write call

Return Summary: Return minimal summary to coordinator

Audit Rules (5 Checks)

1. Outdated Packages

Mode: full only

Detection:

Run npm outdated --json (Node.js)

Run pip list --outdated --format=json (Python)

Run cargo outdated --format=json (Rust)

Severity:

HIGH: Major version behind (security risk)

MEDIUM: Minor version behind

LOW: Patch version behind

Recommendation: Update to latest version, test for breaking changes

Effort: S-M (update version, run tests)

2. Unused Dependencies

Mode: full only

Detection:

Parse package.json/requirements.txt

Grep codebase for import/require statements

Find dependencies never imported

Severity:

MEDIUM: Unused production dependency (bloats bundle)

LOW: Unused dev dependency

Recommendation: Remove from package manifest

Effort: S (delete line, test)

3. Available Features Not Used

Mode: full only

Detection:

Check for axios when native fetch available (Node 18+)

Check for lodash when Array methods sufficient

Check for moment when Date.toLocaleString sufficient

Severity:

MEDIUM: Unnecessary dependency (increases bundle size)

Recommendation: Use native alternative

Effort: M (refactor code to use native API)

4. Custom Implementations

Mode: full only

Detection:

Grep for custom sorting algorithms

Check for hand-rolled validation (vs validator.js)

Find custom date parsing (vs date-fns/dayjs)

Severity:

HIGH: Custom crypto (security risk)

MEDIUM: Custom utilities with well-tested alternatives

Recommendation: Replace with established library

Effort: M (integrate library, replace calls)

5. Vulnerability Scan (CVE/CVSS)

Mode: full AND vulnerabilities_only

Detection:

Detect ecosystems: npm, NuGet, pip, Go, Bundler, Cargo, Composer

Run audit commands per references/vulnerability_commands.md

Parse results with CVSS mapping per references/cvss_severity_mapping.md

Severity:

CRITICAL: CVSS 9.0-10.0 (immediate fix required)

HIGH: CVSS 7.0-8.9 (fix within 48h)

MEDIUM: CVSS 4.0-6.9 (fix within 1 week)

LOW: CVSS 0.1-3.9 (fix when convenient)

Fix Classification:

Patch update (x.x.Y) -> safe auto-fix

Minor update (x.Y.0) -> usually safe

Major update (Y.0.0) -> manual review required

No fix available -> document and monitor

Recommendation: Update to fixed version, verify lock file integrity

Effort: S-L (depends on breaking changes)

Scoring Algorithm

MANDATORY READ: Load references/audit_worker_core_contract.md and references/audit_scoring.md.

Note: When mode=vulnerabilities_only, score based only on vulnerability findings.

Output Format

MANDATORY READ: Load references/audit_worker_core_contract.md and references/templates/audit_worker_report_template.md.

Write JSON summary per references/audit_summary_contract.md. In managed mode the caller passes both runId and summaryArtifactPath; in standalone mode the worker generates its own run-scoped artifact path per shared contract.

Write report to {output_dir}/ln-625--global.md with category: "Dependencies & Reuse" and checks: outdated_packages, unused_deps, available_natives, custom_implementations, vulnerability_scan.

Return summary per references/audit_summary_contract.md.

When summaryArtifactPath is absent, write the standalone runtime summary under .hex-skills/runtime-artifacts/runs/{run_id}/evaluation-worker/{worker}--{identifier}.json and optionally echo the same summary in structured output.

Report written: .hex-skills/runtime-artifacts/runs/{run_id}/audit-report/ln-625--global.md
Score: X.X/10 | Issues: N (C:N H:N M:N L:N)

Reference Files

File
Purpose

references/vulnerability_commands.md
Ecosystem-specific audit commands

references/ci_integration_guide.md
CI/CD integration guidance

references/cvss_severity_mapping.md
CVSS to severity level mapping

references/audit_output_schema.md
Audit output schema

Critical Rules

MANDATORY READ: Load references/audit_worker_core_contract.md.

Do not auto-fix: Report only, never modify package manifests or lock files

Mode-aware execution: In vulnerabilities_only mode, skip checks 1-4 entirely

Effort realism: S = <1h, M = 1-4h, L = >4h

CVSS-based severity: Map vulnerability severity strictly via references/cvss_severity_mapping.md

Exclusions: Skip devDependencies for vulnerability severity escalation, skip vendored/bundled deps

Definition of Done

MANDATORY READ: Load references/audit_worker_core_contract.md.

 contextStore parsed (including mode parameter and output_dir)

 All applicable checks completed (5 for full, 1 for vulnerabilities_only)

 Findings collected with severity, location, effort, fix_type, recommendation

 Score calculated per references/audit_scoring.md

 Report written to {output_dir}/ln-625--global.md (atomic single Write call)

 Summary written per contract

Version: 4.0.0
Last Updated: 2026-02-05