registry / Remote code execution / emp-code / 0.5.19

emp-code@0.5.19

EMP CLI - coding agent with full-screen TUI (ink, clickable tool output, mouse, plan mode, markdown, vision) and 18 providers. Runs great on any light PC / weak CPU / old motherboard. Sessions, context, effort, web search, background tasks, revert.

AI Security Review

scanned 2mo ago · by lpm-firewall-ai

This is a concrete remote-command-execution exposure in a user-invoked service, but the inspected source does not establish covert malware or an automatic malicious install chain.

Static reason

High-risk behavior combination matched malicious policy.; source matched previously finalized malicious package; routed for review; previous stored version diff introduced dangerous source

Trigger

The user runs emp web while the host is reachable on the selected port.

Impact

A reachable attacker can induce command execution in the active workspace through the configured model.

Mechanism

Unauthenticated network access to an auto-approved coding agent with shell execution.

AI rationale

This is a concrete remote-command-execution exposure in a user-invoked service, but the inspected source does not establish covert malware or an automatic malicious install chain.

Evidence

emp-web/server.cjslib/tools.js

Network endpoints1

0.0.0.0:<selected-port>

Decision evidence

public snapshot

AI called this Suspicious at 96.0% confidence as Critical Vulnerability with low false-positive risk.

Evidence for warning

The user-invoked web command starts an unauthenticated server on every network interface.
The web server enables automatic approval by default and bypasses ordinary approval prompts.
Its agent tool executes supplied commands through a shell.
The manifest runs a postinstall script, although that script exits unless a user supplies an environment variable.

Evidence against

No credential harvesting or unsolicited exfiltration was found.
The postinstall downloader is gated by EMP_EXE_URL and does not run its download path by default.
The exposed server is started only by the explicit emp web command.

Behavioral surface

Source

ChildProcessDynamicRequireEnvironmentVarsFilesystemNetworkShell

Supply chain

HighEntropyStringsMinifiedUrlStrings

Manifest

NoLicense

Source & flagged code

24 flagged

package.jsonView file

•scripts.postinstall = node scripts/postinstall.js

High

Install Time Lifecycle Scripts

Package defines install-time lifecycle scripts.

package.jsonView on unpkg

•scripts.postinstall = node scripts/postinstall.js

Medium

Ambiguous Install Lifecycle Script

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

package.jsonView on unpkg

bin/emp.jsView file

4try { L5: const exeName = process.platform === 'win32' ? 'emp-win.exe' : process.platform === 'darwin' ? 'emp-macos' : 'emp-linux'; L6: const exePath = require('path').join(__dirname, '..', 'dist', exeName); L7: if (require('fs').existsSync(exePath)) { L8: const { spawn } = require('child_process'); L9: const child = spawn(exePath, process.argv.slice(2), { stdio: 'inherit' }); ... L31: L32: const VERSION = require('../package.json').version; L33: const versionMod = require('../lib/version'); ... L39: const msg = err && err.stack || err && err.message || String(err); L40: try { process.stderr.write(`\n[emp: uncaught] ${msg}\n`); } catch {} L41:

Critical

Persistence Backdoor

Source writes persistence or remote-access backdoor material.

bin/emp.jsView on unpkg · L4

4Trigger-reachable chain: scripts.start -> bin/emp.js L4: try { L5: const exeName = process.platform === 'win32' ? 'emp-win.exe' : process.platform === 'darwin' ? 'emp-macos' : 'emp-linux'; L6: const exePath = require('path').join(__dirname, '..', 'dist', exeName); L7: if (require('fs').existsSync(exePath)) { L8: const { spawn } = require('child_process'); L9: const child = spawn(exePath, process.argv.slice(2), { stdio: 'inherit' }); ... L31: L32: const VERSION = require('../package.json').version; L33: const versionMod = require('../lib/version'); ... L39: const msg = err && err.stack || err && err.message || String(err); L40: try { process.stderr.write(`\n[emp: uncaught] ${msg}\n`); } catch {} L41:

Critical

Trigger Reachable Dangerous Capability

A package entrypoint or install-time lifecycle script reaches a source file with blocking dangerous behavior.

bin/emp.jsView on unpkg · L4

7if (require('fs').existsSync(exePath)) { L8: const { spawn } = require('child_process'); L9: const child = spawn(exePath, process.argv.slice(2), { stdio: 'inherit' });

High

Child Process

Package source references child process execution.

bin/emp.jsView on unpkg · L7

High

Sandbox Evasion Gated Capability

Source gates dangerous network, credential, or execution behavior behind CI, host, platform, time, or geo fingerprint checks.

bin/emp.jsView on unpkg · L4

7if (require('fs').existsSync(exePath)) { L8: const { spawn } = require('child_process'); L9: const child = spawn(exePath, process.argv.slice(2), { stdio: 'inherit' }); ... L1037: if (!id) { console.log(' cancelled'); return defaultId; } L1038: const baseUrl = (await lifecycle.ask(' baseUrl (e.g. https://api.example.com): ')).trim(); L1039: if (!/^https?:\/\//i.test(baseUrl)) { console.log(C.red + ' baseUrl must start with http(s)://' + C.r); return defaultId; } ... L1682: const schemas = tools.getSchemas(); L1683: console.log('Available tools:'); L1684: for (const t of schemas) { ... L1896: if (!fs.existsSync(abs)) { console.log(`File not found: ${abs}`); return; } L1897: const data = fs.readFileSync(abs); L1898: if (data.length > 8*1024*1024) { console.log(`Image too large ${(data.

High

Remote Agent Bridge

Source exposes local file and command tools to a remote model endpoint.

bin/emp.jsView on unpkg · L7

4Detached bundled service listener: bin/emp.js spawns emp-web/dist/server.cjs; helper exposes a broad-bound HTTP listener. L4: try { L5: const exeName = process.platform === 'win32' ? 'emp-win.exe' : process.platform === 'darwin' ? 'emp-macos' : 'emp-linux'; L6: const exePath = require('path').join(__dirname, '..', 'dist', exeName); L7: if (require('fs').existsSync(exePath)) { L8: const { spawn } = require('child_process'); L9: const child = spawn(exePath, process.argv.slice(2), { stdio: 'inherit' }); ... L31: L32: const VERSION = require('../package.json').version; L33: const versionMod = require('../lib/version'); ... L39: const msg = err && err.stack || err && err.message || String(err); L40: try { process.stderr.write(`\n[emp: uncaught] ${msg}\n`); } catch {} L41:

High

Spawned Bundled Service Listener

Source launches a detached bundled service that exposes a broad-bound HTTP listener.

bin/emp.jsView on unpkg · L4

4Trigger-reachable persistence chain: scripts.start -> bin/emp.js L4: try { L5: const exeName = process.platform === 'win32' ? 'emp-win.exe' : process.platform === 'darwin' ? 'emp-macos' : 'emp-linux'; L6: const exePath = require('path').join(__dirname, '..', 'dist', exeName); L7: if (require('fs').existsSync(exePath)) { L8: const { spawn } = require('child_process'); L9: const child = spawn(exePath, process.argv.slice(2), { stdio: 'inherit' }); ... L31: L32: const VERSION = require('../package.json').version; L33: const versionMod = require('../lib/version'); ... L39: const msg = err && err.stack || err && err.message || String(err); L40: try { process.stderr.write(`\n[emp: uncaught] ${msg}\n`); } catch {} L41:

High

Trigger Reachable Persistence

A manifest entrypoint or package-local install chain reaches persistence behavior.

bin/emp.jsView on unpkg · L4

•stage = ast_semantic_analysis; reason = ast_parse_error; limitedFiles = 3

High

Semantic Analysis Limited

A bounded semantic-analysis stage reached its safety limit; remaining detectors completed, but this package requires AI review.

bin/emp.jsView on unpkg

•matchType = normalized_sha256 matchedPackage = emp-code@0.5.8 matchedPath = bin/emp.js matchedIdentity = npm:ZW1wLWNvZGU:0.5.8 similarity = 1.000 summary = normalized source hash matched finalized malicious source

High

Known Malware Source Similarity

Source file is highly similar to a previously finalized malicious package; route for source-aware review.

bin/emp.jsView on unpkg

5const exeName = process.platform === 'win32' ? 'emp-win.exe' : process.platform === 'darwin' ? 'emp-macos' : 'emp-linux'; L6: const exePath = require('path').join(__dirname, '..', 'dist', exeName); L7: if (require('fs').existsSync(exePath)) {

Medium

Dynamic Require

Package source references dynamic require/import behavior.

bin/emp.jsView on unpkg · L5

lib/tools.jsView file

4const path = require('path'); L5: const { spawn } = require('child_process'); L6: const bg = require('./bg'); L7: let workspace; L8: try { workspace = require('./workspace'); } catch { workspace = { getWorkspace: () => process.cwd() }; } L9: ... L15: L16: function unrestricted() { return process.env.EMP_UNRESTRICTED === '1'; } L17: ... L62: function hasUnresolvedShortName(abs) { L63: if (process.platform !== 'win32') return false; L64: return String(abs || '').split(/[\\/]+/).some((seg) => /~\d+$/.test(seg));

Critical

Download Execute

Source downloads or fetches remote code and executes it.

lib/tools.jsView on unpkg · L4

High

Shell

Package source references shell execution.

lib/tools.jsView on unpkg · L296

•matchType = normalized_sha256 matchedPackage = emp-code@0.5.8 matchedPath = lib/tools.js matchedIdentity = npm:ZW1wLWNvZGU:0.5.8 similarity = 1.000 summary = normalized source hash matched finalized malicious source

High

Known Malware Source Similarity

Source file is highly similar to a previously finalized malicious package; route for source-aware review.

lib/tools.jsView on unpkg

install.shView file

•path = install.sh kind = build_helper sizeBytes = 1217 magicHex = [redacted]

Medium

Ships Build Helper

Package ships non-JavaScript build or shell helper files.

install.shView on unpkg

lib/tui.jsView file

•matchType = normalized_sha256 matchedPackage = emp-code@0.5.8 matchedPath = lib/tui.js matchedIdentity = npm:ZW1wLWNvZGU:0.5.8 similarity = 1.000 summary = normalized source hash matched finalized malicious source

High

Known Malware Source Similarity

Source file is highly similar to a previously finalized malicious package; route for source-aware review.

lib/tui.jsView on unpkg

emp-web/server.cjsView file

•matchType = normalized_sha256 matchedPackage = emp-code@0.5.8 matchedPath = emp-web/server.cjs matchedIdentity = npm:ZW1wLWNvZGU:0.5.8 similarity = 1.000 summary = normalized source hash matched finalized malicious source

High

Known Malware Source Similarity

Source file is highly similar to a previously finalized malicious package; route for source-aware review.

emp-web/server.cjsView on unpkg

lib/diagnostics.jsView file

•matchType = normalized_sha256 matchedPackage = emp-code@0.5.8 matchedPath = lib/diagnostics.js matchedIdentity = npm:ZW1wLWNvZGU:0.5.8 similarity = 1.000 summary = normalized source hash matched finalized malicious source

High

Known Malware Source Similarity

Source file is highly similar to a previously finalized malicious package; route for source-aware review.

lib/diagnostics.jsView on unpkg

lib/mcp.jsView file

•matchType = token_shingles matchedPackage = emp-code@0.5.8 matchedPath = lib/mcp.js matchedIdentity = npm:ZW1wLWNvZGU:0.5.8 similarity = 1.000 shingleOverlap = 48 summary = source token shingles overlapped finalized malicious source

High

Known Malware Source Similarity

Source file is highly similar to a previously finalized malicious package; route for source-aware review.

lib/mcp.jsView on unpkg

scripts/postinstall.jsView file

•matchType = normalized_sha256 matchedPackage = emp-code@0.5.8 matchedPath = scripts/postinstall.js matchedIdentity = npm:ZW1wLWNvZGU:0.5.8 similarity = 1.000 summary = normalized source hash matched finalized malicious source

High

Known Malware Source Similarity

Source file is highly similar to a previously finalized malicious package; route for source-aware review.

scripts/postinstall.jsView on unpkg

lib/config.jsView file

•matchType = normalized_sha256 matchedPackage = emp-code@0.5.8 matchedPath = lib/config.js matchedIdentity = npm:ZW1wLWNvZGU:0.5.8 similarity = 1.000 summary = normalized source hash matched finalized malicious source

High

Known Malware Source Similarity

Source file is highly similar to a previously finalized malicious package; route for source-aware review.

lib/config.jsView on unpkg

lib/providers.jsView file

•matchType = normalized_sha256 matchedPackage = emp-code@0.5.8 matchedPath = lib/providers.js matchedIdentity = npm:ZW1wLWNvZGU:0.5.8 similarity = 1.000 summary = normalized source hash matched finalized malicious source

High

Known Malware Source Similarity

Source file is highly similar to a previously finalized malicious package; route for source-aware review.

lib/providers.jsView on unpkg

emp-web/dist/server.cjsView file

•matchType = previous_version_dangerous_delta matchedPackage = emp-code@0.5.9 matchedIdentity = npm:ZW1wLWNvZGU:0.5.9 similarity = 0.900 summary = stored previous version shares package body but lacks this dangerous source file

Critical

Previous Version Dangerous Delta

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

emp-web/dist/server.cjsView on unpkg

Source & flagged code

24 flagged · loading source

package.jsonView file

•scripts.postinstall = node scripts/postinstall.js

High

Install Time Lifecycle Scripts

Package defines install-time lifecycle scripts.

package.jsonView on unpkg

•scripts.postinstall = node scripts/postinstall.js

Medium

Ambiguous Install Lifecycle Script

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

package.jsonView on unpkg

bin/emp.jsView file

Findings

4 Critical17 High6 Medium6 Low

CriticalPersistence Backdoorbin/emp.js

CriticalDownload Executelib/tools.js

CriticalTrigger Reachable Dangerous Capabilitybin/emp.js

CriticalPrevious Version Dangerous Deltaemp-web/dist/server.cjs

HighInstall Time Lifecycle Scriptspackage.json

HighChild Processbin/emp.js

HighShelllib/tools.js

HighSandbox Evasion Gated Capabilitybin/emp.js

HighRemote Agent Bridgebin/emp.js

HighSpawned Bundled Service Listenerbin/emp.js

HighTrigger Reachable Persistencebin/emp.js

HighSemantic Analysis Limitedbin/emp.js

Affected versions and remediation

This report applies to emp-code@0.5.19.

See all versions of emp-code for other recorded verdicts.

Review the evidence and your use of emp-code@0.5.19 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: 2026-09-04 23:37:24.637Z (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

Runtime surface

Behavioral surface

Source & flagged code