registry / Install hook abuse / trace-mcp / 3.23.0

trace-mcp@3.23.0

Framework-aware code intelligence MCP server — 87 framework integrations, 81 languages, 70.5% fewer input tokens to review a pull request, comprehension at parity

AI Security Review

scanned 2mo ago · by lpm-firewall-ai

The package has a concrete automatic persistence and runtime self-dependency chain, but the inspected code is readable and package-aligned rather than covertly exfiltrating data or modifying a foreign AI-agent configuration. It warrants a warning rather than a publication block.

Static reason

One or more suspicious static signals were detected.; source matched previously finalized malicious package; routed for review; previous stored version diff introduced dangerous source

Trigger

npm installation triggers postinstall; running the serve command triggers the background update check.

Impact

A dependency installation can persist a background process and later replace the global package without a separate update command.

Mechanism

Automatic launchd persistence and recursive global self-update.

AI rationale

Evidence

package.jsonscripts/postinstall-control-plane.mjsdist/cli.js~/.trace/launcher.env~/.trace/bin/trace~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.trace-mcp.server.plist

Network endpoints2

registry.npmjs.org/trace-mcp/latestapi.github.com

Decision evidence

public snapshot

AI called this Suspicious at 91.0% confidence as Dangerous Capability with medium false-positive risk.

Evidence for warning

The install lifecycle automatically runs three package scripts.
The postinstall handler writes and bootstraps a per-user macOS LaunchAgent.
Normal server use schedules an automatic self-update that runs npm to install the latest trace-mcp release.

Evidence against

The inspected lifecycle scripts are readable source, not hidden or encoded payloads.
Claude hook configuration is exposed through an explicit setup-hooks command rather than the install hook.
The self-update checks a fixed npm registry endpoint and has an environment opt-out.

Behavioral surface

Source

ChildProcessCryptoDynamicRequireEnvironmentVarsFilesystemNativeBindingsNetworkShellWebSocket

Supply chain

HighEntropyStringsUrlStrings

ManifestNo manifest risk signals triggered.

scanned 71 file(s), 3.01 MB of source, external domains: 127.0.0.1, analyticsdata.googleapis.com, api.github.com, cloud.langfuse.com, github.com, json-schema.org, oauth2.googleapis.com, raw.githubusercontent.com, registry.npmjs.org, schema.org, trace-mcp.com, wiki.debian.org, www.apple.com, www.googleapis.com

Source & flagged code

17 flagged

package.jsonView file

Lines 15-55json

15 "dev": "tsup --watch",

16 "test": "vitest run",

17 "test:watch": "vitest",

18 "test:recall": "vitest run tests/recall-harness/recall.test.ts",

19 "test:recall:report": "tsx tests/recall-harness/runner.ts",

20 "typecheck": "tsc --noEmit",

21 "lint": "tsc --noEmit",

22 "format": "biome format --write",

23 "format:check": "biome format",

24 "biome:ci": "biome ci",

25 "serve": "tsx src/cli.ts serve",

26 "check:remote-claims": "node scripts/check-remote-claims.mjs",

27 "count:tools": "node scripts/count-advertised-tools.mjs",

28 "record:wire-fixtures": "tsx scripts/record-wire-fixtures.ts",

29 "replay:check": "tsx scripts/replay-eval.ts",

30 "replay:update-baseline": "tsx scripts/replay-eval.ts --update-baseline",

31 "bench:state-replay": "tsx scripts/state-trace-replay.ts",

32 "bench:state-recall": "tsx scripts/bench-state-recall.ts",

33 "bench:index-throughput": "tsx scripts/bench-index-throughput.ts --json docs/perf/index-throughput.json",

34 "bench:session-scaling": "tsx scripts/bench-session-scaling.ts",

35 "postinstall": "node scripts/preflight-native.mjs && node scripts/postinstall-app.mjs && node scripts/postinstall-control-plane.mjs",

High

Install Time Lifecycle Scripts

Package defines install-time lifecycle scripts.

package.jsonView on unpkg · L35

Medium

Ambiguous Install Lifecycle Script

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

package.jsonView on unpkg · L35

36 "prepublishOnly": "pnpm run build",

37 "prepare": "simple-git-hooks",

38 "docs:sitemap": "node scripts/gen-sitemap.mjs && node scripts/gen-llms-full.mjs",

39 "docs:language-matrix": "tsx scripts/language-matrix.ts",

40 "docs:tools-index": "tsx scripts/tools-index.ts",

41 "docs:config-index": "tsx scripts/config-index.ts",

42 "gen:tz-country": "node scripts/gen-tz-country.mjs"

43 },

44 "simple-git-hooks": {

45 "pre-commit": "pnpm exec lint-staged"

46 },

47 "lint-staged": {

48 "*.{ts,tsx,js,jsx,mjs,cjs,json,jsonc,css}": [

49 "biome check --write --no-errors-on-unmatched"

50 ]

51 },

52 "engines": {

53 "node": ">=22.0.0"

54 },

55 "packageManager": "pnpm@10.33.0",

dist/proxy.jsView file

26732// src/daemon/lifecycle.ts L26733: import { execSync, execFileSync, spawn } from "child_process"; L26734: import fs11 from "fs";

High

Child Process

Package source references child process execution.

dist/proxy.jsView on unpkg · L26732

2474function hasPreloadFlags() { L2475: const execArgv = process.execArgv; L2476: for (let i = 0; i < execArgv.length; i++) {

High

Shell

Package source references shell execution.

dist/proxy.jsView on unpkg · L2474

2import { createRequire as __tmcpCreateRequire } from 'node:module'; L3: const require = __tmcpCreateRequire(import.meta.url); L4: var __create = Object.create;

Medium

Dynamic Require

Package source references dynamic require/import behavior.

dist/proxy.jsView on unpkg · L2

1103for (var i = 0; i < flen; ) { L1104: if (f.charCodeAt(i) === 37 && i + 1 < flen) { L1105: lastPos = lastPos > -1 ? lastPos : 0; ... L1338: fsWriteSync = () => fs16.writeSync(this.fd, this._writingBuf); L1339: fsWrite = () => fs16.write(this.fd, this._writingBuf, this.release); L1340: } else if (contentMode === void 0 || contentMode === kContentModeUtf8) { ... L1903: L1904: // node_modules/.pnpm/thread-stream@4.0.0/node_modules/thread-stream/package.json L1905: var require_package = __commonJS({ ... L1943: type: "git", L1944: url: "git+https://github.com/mcollina/thread-stream.git" L1945: },

scripts/capture-screenshots.mjs#virtual:normalized:round1View file

390// six grey placeholders is exactly the failure this pipeline exists to avoid. L391: const dashboard = `http://127.0.0.1:${DEMO_DAEMON_PORT}/api/dashboard`; L392: await fetch(`${dashboard}/refresh`, { method: "POST" }); ... L402: * The guard"s health comes from a heartbeat an attached agent session writes.\n * A capture has no agent, so without this the showcase screenshot ships a red\n * \"Not running\" ba... L403: * policy") — the window comes up blank. Assigning `location.href` inside the\n * document keeps the app's own file origin, exactly as the main process does.\n */\nasync function na... L404: return;

High

Same File Env Network Execution

A single source file combines environment access, network access, and code or shell execution; review context before blocking.

scripts/capture-screenshots.mjs#virtual:normalized:round1View on unpkg · L390

390// six grey placeholders is exactly the failure this pipeline exists to avoid. L391: const dashboard = `http://127.0.0.1:${DEMO_DAEMON_PORT}/api/dashboard`; L392: await fetch(`${dashboard}/refresh`, { method: "POST" }); ... L401: /** L402: * The guard"s health comes from a heartbeat an attached agent session writes.\n * A capture has no agent, so without this the showcase screenshot ships a red\n * \"Not running\" ba... L403: * policy") — the window comes up blank. Assigning `location.href` inside the\n * document keeps the app's own file origin, exactly as the main process does.\n */\nasync function na... L404: return;

High

Command Output Exfiltration

Source combines command execution, command-output handling, and outbound requests; review data flow before blocking.

scripts/capture-screenshots.mjs#virtual:normalized:round1View on unpkg · L390

scripts/verify-upgrade-path.mjsView file

25L26: import { execFileSync } from 'node:child_process'; L27: import fs from 'node:fs'; ... L34: L35: if (process.platform !== 'darwin') { L36: console.log('skip: macOS only'); ... L48: const repoRoot = path.resolve(new URL('..', import.meta.url).pathname); L49: const expected = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(path.join(repoRoot, 'package.json'), 'utf-8')).version; L50: ... L62: try { L63: const res = await fetch(`https://api.github.com/repos/${REPO}/releases?per_page=10`, { L64: headers: { 'User-Agent': 'trace-mcp' },

High

Sandbox Evasion Gated Capability

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

scripts/verify-upgrade-path.mjsView on unpkg · L25

scripts/record-wire-fixtures.tsView file

•matchType = previous_version_dangerous_delta matchedPackage = trace-mcp@3.22.0 matchedIdentity = npm:dHJhY2UtbWNw:3.22.0 similarity = 0.919 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.

scripts/record-wire-fixtures.tsView on unpkg

20* Usage: L21: * npx tsx scripts/record-wire-fixtures.ts [--project <root>] [--port <port>] L22: * ... L25: */ L26: import { spawn } from 'node:child_process'; L27: import fs from 'node:fs';

High

Runtime Package Install

Package source invokes a package manager install command at runtime.

scripts/record-wire-fixtures.tsView on unpkg · L20

hooks/trace-mcp-reindex.shView file

•path = hooks/trace-mcp-reindex.sh kind = build_helper sizeBytes = 8298 magicHex = [redacted]

Medium

Ships Build Helper

Package ships non-JavaScript build or shell helper files.

hooks/trace-mcp-reindex.shView on unpkg

dist/snapshot-backend.jsView file

•path = dist/snapshot-backend.js kind = oversized_source_file sizeBytes = 10995309 magicHex = [redacted]

Medium

Oversized Source File

Package contains source files above the normal full-analysis size ceiling.

dist/snapshot-backend.jsView on unpkg

dist/cli.jsView file

•path = dist/cli.js kind = oversized_cli_entrypoint sizeBytes = 12692123 magicHex = [redacted]

Medium

Oversized Cli Entrypoint

Package contains an oversized executable-looking CLI entrypoint.

dist/cli.jsView on unpkg

scripts/bench-response-tokens.ts#virtual:normalized:round1View file

•stage = ast_semantic_analysis; reason = ast_parse_error; limitedFiles = 7

High

Semantic Analysis Limited

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

scripts/bench-response-tokens.ts#virtual:normalized:round1View on unpkg

scripts/capture-screenshots.mjsView file

•matchType = normalized_sha256 matchedPackage = trace-mcp@3.8.0 matchedPath = scripts/capture-screenshots.mjs matchedIdentity = npm:dHJhY2UtbWNw:3.8.0 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/capture-screenshots.mjsView on unpkg

scripts/count-advertised-tools.mjsView file

•matchType = normalized_sha256 matchedPackage = trace-mcp@3.8.0 matchedPath = scripts/count-advertised-tools.mjs matchedIdentity = npm:dHJhY2UtbWNw:3.8.0 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/count-advertised-tools.mjsView on unpkg

Source & flagged code

17 flagged · loading source

package.jsonView file

•scripts.postinstall = node scripts/preflight-native.mjs && node scripts/postinstall-app.mjs && node scripts/postinstall-control-plane.mjs

High

Install Time Lifecycle Scripts

Package defines install-time lifecycle scripts.

package.jsonView on unpkg

•scripts.postinstall = node scripts/preflight-native.mjs && node scripts/postinstall-app.mjs && node scripts/postinstall-control-plane.mjs

Medium

Ambiguous Install Lifecycle Script

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

package.jsonView on unpkg

dist/proxy.jsView file

26732// src/daemon/lifecycle.ts L26733: import { execSync, execFileSync, spawn } from "child_process"; L26734: import fs11 from "fs";

High

Child Process

Package source references child process execution.

dist/proxy.jsView on unpkg · L26732

Findings

1 Critical10 High9 Medium5 Low

CriticalPrevious Version Dangerous Deltascripts/record-wire-fixtures.ts

HighInstall Time Lifecycle Scriptspackage.json

HighChild Processdist/proxy.js

HighShelldist/proxy.js

HighSame File Env Network Executionscripts/capture-screenshots.mjs#virtual:normalized:round1

HighCommand Output Exfiltrationscripts/capture-screenshots.mjs#virtual:normalized:round1

HighSandbox Evasion Gated Capabilityscripts/verify-upgrade-path.mjs

HighRuntime Package Installscripts/record-wire-fixtures.ts

HighSemantic Analysis Limitedscripts/bench-response-tokens.ts#virtual:normalized:round1

HighKnown Malware Source Similarityscripts/capture-screenshots.mjs

Affected versions and remediation

This report applies to trace-mcp@3.23.0.

See all versions of trace-mcp for other recorded verdicts.

Review the evidence and your use of trace-mcp@3.23.0 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: 2026-09-07 15:24:36.371Z (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