@cotal-ai/cli@0.127.3
Cotal mesh CLI: up, join, watch, console, spawn, mint, channels, history, ext.
AI Security Review
scanned 6d ago · by lpm-firewall-aiThe source shows default runtime telemetry with an opt-out, but the notice is conditional on an interactive terminal and understates the regular payload, which also reports selected environment and installation details. This supports a warning for telemetry rather than a malicious verdict.
Static reason
One or more suspicious static signals were detected.; previous stored version diff introduced dangerous source
Trigger
A CLI command runs while telemetry is enabled; regular telemetry is the default when settings are first created.
Impact
Cotal receives anonymous usage data, a hashed account identifier, selected environment values, and installed extension and mesh inventory without an explicit opt-in.
Mechanism
The CLI gathers command and install events and POSTs them at process exit to Cotal's telemetry endpoint.
AI rationale
The source shows default runtime telemetry with an opt-out, but the notice is conditional on an interactive terminal and understates the regular payload, which also reports selected environment and installation details. This supports a warning for telemetry rather than a malicious verdict.
Evidence
dist/telemetry.jsdist/command.js.lpm-dependency-evidence-76539332-d34d-40f8-b1ae-2456a7cb4fc6/1/npm-linux/dist/telemetry.jstelemetry settings file (telemetry.json)Cotal sign-in sessions file (idp-sessions.json)extension manifestmesh registry
Network endpoints1
cotal.ai/v1/telemetry
Decision evidence
public snapshotAI called this Suspicious at 86.0% confidence as Unknown with medium false-positive risk.
Evidence for warning
- When no telemetry settings exist, the workspace dependency creates them at the `regular` level; the CLI arms telemetry for recognized commands and sends events on exit.
- The notice is shown only on a TTY and only once, and its field summary does not mention all fields in the regular payload.
- Regular events include an account hash, subcommands, flag names, shell and terminal values; daily install events include extension, connector and runtime inventory and mesh counts.
- Telemetry is POSTed to `https://cotal.ai/v1/telemetry`.
Evidence against
- The package displays a telemetry notice on an interactive run and provides `cotal telemetry minimal` and `cotal telemetry off` controls.
- The code describes the account value as a truncated hash and masks values and paths in error text.
- Agent skills are written by the explicit setup command, and the package declares no lifecycle scripts.
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@0.127.3.
See all versions of @cotal-ai/cli for other recorded verdicts.
- Review the evidence and your use of @cotal-ai/cli@0.127.3 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.