registry / AI-agent control-surface risk / chemx / 26.9.16-1249

chemx@26.9.16-1249

Chemical X Protocol: Private drop-in architecture starter kit and capsule generator

AI Security Review

scanned 11d ago · by lpm-firewall-ai

The automatic install hook makes unconsented behavior-bearing changes to foreign AI-agent control surfaces by registering an executable MCP server. This meets the lifecycle control-hijack block criteria.

Static reason

High-risk behavior combination matched malicious policy.; previous stored version diff introduced dangerous source

Trigger

npm runs the package postinstall hook.

Impact

Agent clients may subsequently launch the package MCP command in the consumer project or environment.

Mechanism

The hook calls the MCP installer with the consumer install directory; that installer writes behavior-bearing MCP server entries without requesting consent.

Policy narrative

During npm installation, the postinstall hook registers a Chemical X MCP server in consumer agent configuration without a consent prompt. Cursor and VS Code project configuration is written directly, and an existing Antigravity configuration directory enables a global configuration write. The configured command launches chemx through npx or a local package path.

AI rationale

Evidence

package.jsoncli/postinstall.jscli/mcp/installer.js.cursor/mcp.json.vscode/mcp.json~/.gemini/config/mcp_config.json

Decision evidence

public snapshot

AI identified this as a dangerous AI-agent capability at 97.0% confidence with low false-positive risk.

Evidence for policy risk

package.json runs cli/postinstall.js automatically on install.
The postinstall handler targets the consumer install directory and calls installAllMcpConfigs without a consent prompt.
The installer creates and writes .cursor/mcp.json and .vscode/mcp.json in the consumer project.
Those MCP entries launch chemx through npx; when an Antigravity config directory exists, the installer also writes its global MCP configuration.

Evidence against

The Antigravity global configuration is changed only when its config directory already exists.
The installer merges the named Chemical X MCP entry into the existing configuration.

Behavioral surface

Source

ChildProcessEnvironmentVarsFilesystemNetworkShell

Supply chain

HighEntropyStringsUrlStrings

ManifestNo manifest risk signals triggered.

scanned 92 file(s), 596 KB of source, external domains: api.github.com, chemicalx.xophz.com, github.com, img.shields.io, mycompassconsulting.com, www.w3.org

Source & flagged code

9 flagged

package.jsonView file

Lines 31-70json

31 ".": "./cli/index.js",

32 "./audit": "./cli/audit.js",

33 "./build": "./cli/build.js",

34 "./search": "./cli/search.js",

35 "./mcp": "./cli/mcp/index.js",

36 "./reader": "./cli/reader.js",

37 "./patcher": "./cli/patcher.js"

38 },

39 "scripts": {

40 "publish:both": "node scripts/publish-both.mjs",

41 "test": "node --test cli/audit/*.spec.js cli/mcp/*.spec.js cli/*.spec.js",

42 "typecheck": "tsc --noEmit",

43 "create-capsule": "node cli/index.js",

44 "audit": "node cli/index.js audit",

45 "ci:audit": "node cli/index.js audit --ci --dir=cli",

46 "chemx": "node cli/index.js",

47 "q": "node cli/index.js q",

48 "search": "node cli/index.js search",

49 "mcp": "node cli/index.js mcp",

50 "install-mcp": "node cli/index.js install-mcp",

51 "postinstall": "node cli/postinstall.js",

High

Install Time Lifecycle Scripts

Package defines install-time lifecycle scripts.

package.jsonView on unpkg · L51

Medium

Ambiguous Install Lifecycle Script

Install-time lifecycle script is not statically allowlisted and needs review.

package.jsonView on unpkg · L51

52 "read": "node cli/index.js read",

53 "patch": "node cli/index.js patch"

54 },

55 "dependencies": {

56 "@babel/parser": "^7.29.8",

57 "@babel/traverse": "^7.29.8",

58 "@babel/types": "^7.29.8",

59 "react": "^18.3.1",

60 "react-dom": "^18.3.1"

61 },

62 "devDependencies": {

63 "@types/babel__traverse": "^7.28.0",

64 "@types/node": "^22.20.2",

65 "@types/react": "^18.3.31",

66 "@types/react-dom": "^18.3.7",

67 "typescript": "^5.9.3"

68 }

69}

cli/audit-preflight-git.jsView file

Lines 1-21javascript

1import fs from 'node:fs';

2import { spawnSync } from 'node:child_process';

High

Child Process

Package source references child process execution.

cli/audit-preflight-git.jsView on unpkg · L1

4const SOURCE_FILE_PATTERN = /\.

cli/terminal.jsView file

Lines 1-30javascript

1import readline from "node:readline";

2import { spawnSync } from "node:child_process";

3import { formatChemicalXGradient, ANSI } from "./theme.js";

5export const openBrowser

cli/license.jsView file

Lines 1-23javascript

1import fs from 'node:fs';

2import path from 'node:path';

3import os from 'node:os';

4import { spawnSync } from 'node:child_process';

cli/mcp/installer.jsView file

Lines 1-21javascript

1import fs from 'node:fs';

2import path from 'node:path';

3import os from 'node:os';

5const SERVER_KEY =

cli/scaffold.jsView file

•Manifest-trigger-reachable source links an external AI-agent control path to a behavior-bearing write operation. import fs from 'node:fs'; import path from 'node:path'; import { hasgum, guminput, promptquestion, renderbanner } from './terminal.js'; import { obtainlicensekey, fetchstarterkitfiles, loadlocalblueprintfiles } from './license.js'; export const runscaffold = async (projectname, rawargs = [], onrunaudit = null) => { renderbanner('chemical x: molecular architecture scaffolder (npm create chemx)'); const licensekey = await obtainlicensekey(rawargs, onrunaudit); let iscommunity = false; let files = {}; if (!licensekey) { process.stdout.write( '\n\x1b[38;2;98;201;255m⚡ chemical x: community edition (free)\x1b[0m\n' + 'the community version is free because

High

Trigger Reachable External Ai Agent Control Surface Mutation

Manifest-trigger-reachable source writes behavior-bearing configuration into a user or project AI-agent control surface.

cli/scaffold.jsView on unpkg

scripts/pre-commit.shView file

•matchType = previous_version_dangerous_delta matchedPackage = chemx@26.9.14-1358 matchedIdentity = npm:Y2hlbXg:26.9.14-1358 similarity = 0.786 summary = stored previous version shares package body but lacks this dangerous source file

High

Previous Version Dangerous Delta

This package version adds a dangerous source file absent from the previous stored version; route for source-aware review.

scripts/pre-commit.shView on unpkg

•path = scripts/pre-commit.sh kind = build_helper sizeBytes = 4608 magicHex = [redacted]

Medium

Ships Build Helper

Package ships non-JavaScript build or shell helper files.

scripts/pre-commit.shView on unpkg

Source & flagged code

9 flagged · loading source

package.jsonView file

•scripts.postinstall = node cli/postinstall.js

High

Install Time Lifecycle Scripts

Package defines install-time lifecycle scripts.

package.jsonView on unpkg

•scripts.postinstall = node cli/postinstall.js

Medium

Ambiguous Install Lifecycle Script

Install-time lifecycle script is not statically allowlisted and needs review.

package.jsonView on unpkg

cli/audit-preflight-git.jsView file

1import fs from 'node:fs'; L2: import { spawnSync } from 'node:child_process'; L3:

High

Child Process

Package source references child process execution.

cli/audit-preflight-git.jsView on unpkg · L1

Findings

1 Critical6 High5 Medium4 Low

CriticalAi Agent Control Hijackcli/mcp/installer.js

HighInstall Time Lifecycle Scriptspackage.json

HighChild Processcli/audit-preflight-git.js

HighShellcli/terminal.js

HighSame File Env Network Executioncli/license.js

HighTrigger Reachable External Ai Agent Control Surface Mutationcli/scaffold.js

HighPrevious Version Dangerous Deltascripts/pre-commit.sh

MediumAmbiguous Install Lifecycle Scriptpackage.json

MediumNetwork

MediumEnvironment Vars

MediumShips Build Helperscripts/pre-commit.sh

MediumStructural Risk Force Deep Review

Low

Affected versions and remediation

This report applies to chemx@26.9.16-1249.

See all versions of chemx for other recorded verdicts.

Avoid installing chemx@26.9.16-1249. Remove it from direct dependencies and check your lockfile for transitive copies.
Choose an independently verified alternative or release. This report does not establish that other versions are safe.
If this version ran, investigate the affected machine and build environment. Rotate credentials it could access and rebuild from a trusted environment.

Evidence last updated: 2026-10-12 06:56:53.488Z (UTC).

Think this verdict is wrong? Dispute it on GitHub or read how reports are produced.

AI Security Review

Decision evidence

Source & flagged code

Source & flagged code

Findings

Affected versions and remediation

Related packages

Other AI-agent control-surface risk packages

Behavioral surface

Related packages

Other AI-agent control-surface risk packages

Source & flagged code