@cotal-ai/cli@0.121.2
Cotal mesh CLI: up, join, watch, console, spawn, mint, channels, history, ext.
AI Security Review
scanned 6d ago · by lpm-firewall-aiThe CLI has an exit-hook telemetry sender whose regular events include metadata not fully covered by the included notice, although telemetry can be turned off. The flagged agent-skill writes are limited to managed skill files and are not enough to establish malicious behavior.
Static reason
One or more suspicious static signals were detected.; previous stored version diff introduced dangerous source
Trigger
CLI command execution when telemetry is enabled at a sending level.
Impact
The service receives undisclosed usage metadata; users can disable telemetry with the `off` level.
Mechanism
An exit hook posts command and periodic install events to the telemetry endpoint. Regular events include account and environment-derived metadata beyond the notice's summary.
AI rationale
The CLI has an exit-hook telemetry sender whose regular events include metadata not fully covered by the included notice, although telemetry can be turned off. The flagged agent-skill writes are limited to managed skill files and are not enough to establish malicious behavior.
Evidence
dist/telemetry.jsdist/lib/agent-skills.js~/.cotal/telemetry.json~/.cotal/agent-skills.json~/.agents/skills/<name>/SKILL.md
Network endpoints1
cotal.ai/v1/telemetry
Decision evidence
public snapshotAI called this Suspicious at 78.0% confidence as Unknown with medium false-positive risk.
Evidence for warning
- Runtime telemetry sends command and install events to https://cotal.ai/v1/telemetry when enabled.
- Regular telemetry includes a hashed account identifier and details such as installed extensions, runtimes, mesh counts, and shell and terminal names; the package does not include the referenced telemetry documentation.
- Telemetry has an `off` level and skips sending when disabled.
- Agent skill reconciliation writes only the package's skill files under ~/.agents/skills and tracks ownership in ~/.cotal.
Evidence against
- The telemetry notice describes collection of command names, outcomes, masked error text, version, OS, and installed connectors, and offers an opt-out.
- The manifest has no lifecycle scripts; the package exposes CLI entry points and optional exports.
- The global npm install is offered only in a specific `npx` setup flow, with a prompt for interactive use.
Behavioral surface
ChildProcessCryptoDynamicRequireEnvironmentVarsFilesystem
Source & flagged code
7 flaggeddist/seed/reconcile.jsView file
1import { existsSync, renameSync } from "node:fs";
L2: import { spawnSync } from "node:child_process";
L3: import { randomBytes } from "node:crypto";
High
Child Process
Package source references child process execution.
dist/seed/reconcile.jsView on unpkg · L1dist/lib/persona-files.jsView file
274process.on(signal, pass);
L275: const child = program ? spawn(program, [draft], { stdio: "inherit" }) : spawn(`${editor} ${quoted}`, { shell: true, stdio: "inherit" });
L276: return new Promise(resolve => {
High
dist/lib/nats-bin.jsView file
Findings
1 Critical5 High4 Medium4 Low
CriticalPrevious Version Dangerous Deltadist/telemetry.js
HighChild Processdist/seed/reconcile.js
HighShelldist/lib/persona-files.js
HighTrigger Reachable External Ai Agent Control Surface Mutationdist/lib/agent-skills.js
HighRuntime Package Installdist/commands/setup.js
HighSemantic Analysis Limiteddist/commands/ext.js
MediumDynamic Requiredist/lib/nats-bin.js
MediumNetwork
MediumEnvironment Vars
MediumStructural Risk Force Deep Review
LowScripts Present
LowFilesystem
LowHigh Entropy Strings
LowUrl Strings
Affected versions and remediation
This report applies to @cotal-ai/cli@0.121.2.
See all versions of @cotal-ai/cli for other recorded verdicts.
- Review the evidence and your use of @cotal-ai/cli@0.121.2 before allowing it. Restrict the permissions described in this report.
- Choose an independently verified alternative or release. This report does not establish that other versions are safe.
Evidence last updated: .
Think this verdict is wrong? Dispute it on GitHub or read how reports are produced.