registry / AI-agent capability abuse / pennyrouter / 0.2.29

pennyrouter@0.2.29

Install and manage PennyRouter local coding-agent integrations.

AI Security Review

scanned 11d ago · by lpm-firewall-ai

Source inspection found user-invoked Claude agent configuration and a status-line request authenticated with a PennyRouter key. This supports a warning for an agent capability, but the inspected source does not establish a malicious attack or automatic npm install behavior.

Static reason

One or more suspicious static signals were detected.; previous stored version diff introduced dangerous source

Trigger

A user runs the PennyRouter CLI installation or configuration flow for Claude Code.

Impact

The integration changes Claude Code behavior and sends the key to the configured gateway, so its safety depends on the selected endpoint.

Mechanism

The launcher configures the status line and stores an overlay; the status-line script can send a PennyRouter key to the configured base URL to fetch session status.

AI rationale

Evidence

src/launch.jssrc/statusline.js~/.claude/settings.json~/.config/pennyrouter/claude-settings.json~/.local/state/pennyrouter/claude-statusline.mjs

Network endpoints1

api.pennyrouter.com

Decision evidence

public snapshot

AI called this Suspicious at 79.0% confidence as Dangerous Capability with medium false-positive risk.

Evidence for warning

The CLI install path configures Claude Code’s status line and writes a PennyRouter settings overlay.
The status line reads a PennyRouter key and sends it to the configured base URL, so its behavior depends on the endpoint in the user’s settings.
The executable is an explicit CLI command; the manifest shows no npm lifecycle hook.
The inspected Codex, MCP, and thread-session target locations concern test fixtures or local session paths, not agent-control writes.
CodeGPT setup prints manual instructions and does not write JetBrains settings.

Evidence against

The package manifest exposes a CLI and defines only start and check scripts; no install-time hook is declared.
The status line fetch is gated on a session ID, base URL, and PennyRouter key, and targets the configured gateway’s status endpoint.
Claude installation preserves an existing status line by wrapping it, and the user invokes the install flow to configure the integration.

Behavioral surface

Source

ChildProcessCryptoEnvironmentVars

Source & flagged code

6 flagged

src/launch.test.jsView file

28async function main() { L29: if (!(["darwin", "linux"].includes(process.platform))) { L30: console.log("launch.test.js: skipped on unsupported platform"); ... L34: const root = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "pr-launch-test-")); L35: const previous = Object.fromEntries(ENV_KEYS.map((key) => [key, process.env[key]])); L36: const home = path.join(root, "home"); ... L45: fs.writeFileSync(path.join(home, ".codex", "config.toml"), nativeCodex); L46: fs.writeFileSync(path.join(home, ".zshrc"), "# user setting\n"); L47: ... L74: apiKey: "pr-super-secret", L75: gatewayBaseUrl: "https://gateway.example/", L76: subscriptionAuth: true,

Medium

Install Persistence

Source writes installer persistence such as shell profile or service configuration.

src/launch.test.jsView on unpkg · L28

src/harnesses/codegpt.jsView file

1import { spawnSync } from "node:child_process"; L2: ... L56: console.log(" Open CodeGPT settings and remove or replace the PennyRouter provider:"); L57: console.log(" - Base URL: https://api.pennyrouter.com/v1"); L58: console.log(" - API Key: pr-..."); ... L64: const commands = L65: process.platform === "darwin" L66: ? [["pbcopy"]] L67: : process.platform === "win32"

High

Sandbox Evasion Gated Capability

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

src/harnesses/codegpt.jsView on unpkg · L1

src/statusline.jsView file

•Runtime or CLI code links a write operation to an explicit external AI-agent control path: code (installed by \`pennyrouter install\`). // prints: [wrapped original statusline (all lines) |] penny segment (penny / penny (sub) // / penny (byok) / penny off). the wrapped statusline's first line gets the penny suffix; // any further lines (e.g. a context bar) pass through verbatim. // never blocks on the network: reads a per-session cache and refreshes it detached. import { readfilesync, mkdirsync, writefilesync, statsync } from "node:fs"; import { spawn, spawnsync } from "node:child_process"; import { join, basename } from "node:path"; import os from "node:os"; const statedir = join( process.env.xdg_state_home || join(os.homedir(), ".local", "state"), "pennyrouter", ); const cachedir =

High

External Ai Agent Control Surface Mutation

Runtime or CLI source writes behavior-bearing configuration into a user or project AI-agent control surface.

src/statusline.jsView on unpkg

src/launch.jsView file

•Manifest-trigger-reachable source links an external AI-agent control path to a behavior-bearing write operation. import { spawn, spawnsync } from "node:child_process"; import { chmod, cp, mkdir, rm, stat, unlink, writefile, } from "node:fs/promises"; import { constants as osconstants } from "node:os"; import { fileurltopath } from "node:url"; import { basename, dirname, join, resolve } from "node:path"; import { configureclaudecodestatusline } from "./statusline.js"; import { upgradeclaudecodemodelvalue, [redacted] } from "./harnesses/claude-code.js"; import { atomicwrite, homedir, readjsonfile, readtext } from "./state.js"; const config_version = 1; const path_start = "# >>> pennyrouter path >>>"; const path_end = "# <<< pennyrouter path <<<"; const codex_profile_marker =

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.

src/launch.jsView on unpkg

src/mcp-register.js#virtual:normalized:round1View file

•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.

src/mcp-register.js#virtual:normalized:round1View on unpkg

src/cli.jsView file

•matchType = previous_version_dangerous_delta matchedPackage = pennyrouter@0.3.17 matchedIdentity = npm:cGVubnlyb3V0ZXI:0.3.17 similarity = 0.613 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.

src/cli.jsView on unpkg

Source & flagged code

6 flagged · loading source

src/launch.test.jsView file

Medium

Install Persistence

Source writes installer persistence such as shell profile or service configuration.

src/launch.test.jsView on unpkg · L28

src/harnesses/codegpt.jsView file

High

Sandbox Evasion Gated Capability

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

Findings

5 High4 Medium4 Low

HighSandbox Evasion Gated Capabilitysrc/harnesses/codegpt.js

HighExternal Ai Agent Control Surface Mutationsrc/statusline.js

HighTrigger Reachable External Ai Agent Control Surface Mutationsrc/launch.js

HighSemantic Analysis Limitedsrc/mcp-register.js#virtual:normalized:round1

HighPrevious Version Dangerous Deltasrc/cli.js

MediumNetwork

MediumEnvironment Vars

MediumInstall Persistencesrc/launch.test.js

MediumStructural Risk Force Deep Review

LowScripts Present

LowFilesystem

LowHigh Entropy Strings

LowUrl Strings

Affected versions and remediation

This report applies to pennyrouter@0.2.29.

See all versions of pennyrouter for other recorded verdicts.

Review the evidence and your use of pennyrouter@0.2.29 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: 2026-10-11 19:02:46.406Z (UTC).

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