@cotal-ai/cli@0.133.13
Cotal mesh CLI: up, join, watch, console, spawn, mint, channels, history, ext.
AI Security Review
scanned 3d ago · by lpm-firewall-aiThe source shows disclosed, default-on runtime telemetry with an opt-out, but the notice is only shown in TTY sessions, making telemetry undisclosed for noninteractive runs. This warrants a warning; the flagged agent-skill writes are tied to explicit setup actions and show no separate attack behavior.
Static reason
One or more suspicious static signals were detected.; previous stored version diff introduced dangerous source
Trigger
Invocation of a normal CLI command when telemetry is at its default regular level; telemetry can be disabled with `cotal telemetry off`.
Impact
The service receives command and flag names, outcomes, platform and runtime metadata, a pseudonymous account hash, and scrubbed error details. No raw credentials or command arguments were identified in this flow.
Mechanism
The command dispatcher arms an exit hook that posts telemetry to https://cotal.ai/v1/telemetry. A first-run notice is emitted only when stderr is a TTY.
AI rationale
The source shows disclosed, default-on runtime telemetry with an opt-out, but the notice is only shown in TTY sessions, making telemetry undisclosed for noninteractive runs. This warrants a warning; the flagged agent-skill writes are tied to explicit setup actions and show no separate attack behavior.
Evidence
dist/command.jsdist/telemetry.jsdist/commands/telemetry.js.lpm-dependency-evidence-e02efd69-0a3e-433a-a4f0-98a70206de2b/1/npm-linux/dist/telemetry.js~/.cotal/telemetry.json
Network endpoints1
cotal.ai/v1/telemetry
Decision evidence
public snapshotAI called this Suspicious at 88.0% confidence as Dangerous Capability with medium false-positive risk.
Evidence for warning
- When telemetry settings are first created, the dependency defaults to the regular level and generates an install ID.
- The CLI arms telemetry for normal commands; it skips sending only when telemetry is off or the command is marked silent.
- The telemetry notice is printed only when stderr is a TTY, so noninteractive command runs can send without displaying it.
- Regular command events include a hashed account identifier, command and flag names, and scrubbed error details.
- Telemetry is posted to https://cotal.ai/v1/telemetry when the process exits.
- The CLI offers `cotal telemetry off` to disable telemetry.
Evidence against
- The telemetry is described as anonymous; its source says it excludes argument values, paths, names and content.
- The endpoint is the package publisher's own service, and the source describes scrubbing paths and identifying values from error text.
- The separate agent-skills reconciliation runs through the explicit `cotal setup` command and manages the package's authored skill files.
- No npm lifecycle scripts are declared, and no install-time behavior was identified.
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/commands/spawn.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
Low
Affected versions and remediation
This report applies to @cotal-ai/cli@0.133.13.
See all versions of @cotal-ai/cli for other recorded verdicts.
- Review the evidence and your use of @cotal-ai/cli@0.133.13 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: .
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