clawdbot-self-security-audit

---
name: clawdbot-self-security-audit
description: Perform a comprehensive read-only security audit of Clawdbot's own configuration. This is a knowledge-based skill that teaches Clawdbot to identify hardening opportunities and generate reports. Use when user asks to "run security check", "audit clawdbot", "check security hardening", or "what vulnerabilities do I have". This skill only READS configuration and generates reports—it never modifies settings or executes fixes automatically. Designed to be extensible—new checks can be added by updating this skill's knowledge.
homepage: https://github.com/TheSethRose/Clawdbot-Security-Check
metadata: {"clawdbot":{"emoji":"🔒","os":["darwin","linux"],"requires":{"files":["read"],"tools":["exec","bash"]},"install":[{"id":"read-skill","kind":"skill","name":"clawdbot-self-security-audit","label":"Install security audit skill","bins":["SKILL.md"]}]}}
---

# Clawdbot Self-Security Audit Framework

This skill empowers Clawdbot to audit its own security posture using first-principles reasoning. Rather than relying on a static script, Clawdbot learns the framework and applies it dynamically to detect vulnerabilities, understand their impact, and recommend specific remediations.

## Core Philosophy

> "Security through transparency and self-awareness." — Inspired by ᴅᴀɴɪᴇʟ ᴍɪᴇssʟᴇʀ

Clawdbot should know its own attack surface. This skill embeds that knowledge directly.

## Security Principles

Running an AI agent with shell access requires caution. Focus on three areas:

1. **Who can talk to the bot** — DM policies, group allowlists, channel restrictions
2. **Where the bot is allowed to act** — Network exposure, gateway binding, proxy configs
3. **What the bot can touch** — Tool access, file permissions, credential storage

Start with the smallest access possible and widen it as you gain confidence.

## Trust Hierarchy

Apply appropriate trust levels based on role:

| Level | Entity | Trust Model |
|-------|--------|-------------|
| 1 | **Owner** | Full trust — has all access |
| 2 | **AI** | Trust but verify — sandboxed, logged |
| 3 | **Allowlists** | Limited trust — only specified users |
| 4 | **Strangers** | No trust — blocked by default |

## Audit Commands

Use these commands to run security audits:

- `clawdbot security audit` — Standard audit of common issues
- `clawdbot security audit --deep` — Comprehensive audit with all checks
- `clawdbot security audit --fix` — Apply guardrail remediations

## The 12 Security Domains

When auditing Clawdbot, systematically evaluate these domains:

### 1. Gateway Exposure 🔴 Critical

**What to check:**
- Where is the gateway binding? (`gateway.bind`)
- Is authentication configured? (`gateway.auth_token` or `CLAWDBOT_GATEWAY_TOKEN` env var)
- What port is exposed? (default: 18789)
- Is WebSocket auth enabled?

**How to detect:**
```bash
cat ~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json | grep -A10 '"gateway"'
env | grep CLAWDBOT_GATEWAY_TOKEN
```

**Vulnerability:** Binding to `0.0.0.0` or `lan` without auth allows network access.

**Remediation:**
```bash
# Generate gateway token
clawdbot doctor --generate-gateway-token
export CLAWDBOT_GATEWAY_TOKEN="$(openssl rand -hex 32)"
```

---

### 2. DM Policy Configuration 🟠 High

**What to check:**
- What is `dm_policy` set to?
- If `allowlist`, who is explicitly allowed via `allowFrom`?

**How to detect:**
```bash
cat ~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json | grep -E '"dm_policy|"allowFrom"'
```

**Vulnerability:** Setting to `allow` or `open` means any user can DM Clawdbot.

**Remediation:**
```json
{
  "channels": {
    "telegram": {
      "dmPolicy": "allowlist",
      "allowFrom": ["@trusteduser1", "@trusteduser2"]
    }
  }
}
```

---

### 3. Group Access Control 🟠 High

**What to check:**
- What is `groupPolicy` set to?
- Are groups explicitly allowlisted?
- Are mention gates configured?

**How to detect:**
```bash
cat ~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json | grep -E '"groupPolicy"|"groups"' 
cat ~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json | grep -i "mention"
```

**Vulnerability:** Open group policy allows anyone in the room to trigger commands.

**Remediation:**
```json
{
  "channels": {
    "telegram": {
      "groupPolicy": "allowlist",
      "groups": {
        "-100123456789": true
      }
    }
  }
}
```

---

### 4. Credentials Security 🔴 Critical

**What to check:**
- Credential file locations and permissions
- Environment variable usage
- Auth profile storage

**Credential Storage Map:**
| Platform | Path |
|----------|------|
| WhatsApp | `~/.clawdbot/credentials/whatsapp/{accountId}/creds.json` |
| Telegram | `~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json` or env |
| Discord | `~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json` or env |
| Slack | `~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json` or env |
| Pairing allowlists | `~/.clawdbot/credentials/channel-allowFrom.json` |
| Auth profiles | `~/.clawdbot/agents/{agentId}/auth-profiles.json` |
| Legacy OAuth | `~/.clawdbot/credentials/oauth.json` |

**How to detect:**
```bash
ls -la ~/.clawdbot/credentials/
ls -la ~/.clawdbot/agents/*/auth-profiles.json 2>/dev/null
stat -c "%a" ~/.clawdbot/credentials/oauth.json 2>/dev/null
```

**Vulnerability:** Plaintext credentials with loose permissions can be read by any process.

**Remediation:**
```bash
chmod 700 ~/.clawdbot
chmod 600 ~/.clawdbot/credentials/oauth.json
chmod 600 ~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json
```

---

### 5. Browser Control Exposure 🟠 High

**What to check:**
- Is browser control enabled?
- Are authentication tokens set for remote control?
- Is HTTPS required for Control UI?
- Is a dedicated browser profile configured?

**How to detect:**
```bash
cat ~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json | grep -A5 '"browser"'
cat ~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json | grep -i "controlUi|insecureAuth"
ls -la ~/.clawdbot/browser/
```

**Vulnerability:** Exposed browser control without auth allows remote UI takeover. Browser access allows the model to use logged-in sessions.

**Remediation:**
```json
{
  "browser": {
    "remoteControlUrl": "https://...",
    "remoteControlToken": "...",
    "dedicatedProfile": true,
    "disableHostControl": true
  },
  "gateway": {
    "controlUi": {
      "allowInsecureAuth": false
    }
  }
}
```

**Security Note:** Treat browser control URLs as admin APIs.

---

### 6. Gateway Bind & Network Exposure 🟠 High

**What to check:**
- What is `gateway.bind` set to?
- Are trusted proxies configured?
- Is Tailscale enabled?

**How to detect:**
```bash
cat ~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json | grep -A10 '"gateway"'
cat ~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json | grep '"tailscale"'
```

**Vulnerability:** Public binding without auth allows internet access to gateway.

**Remediation:**
```json
{
  "gateway": {
    "bind": "127.0.0.1",
    "mode": "local",
    "trustedProxies": ["127.0.0.1", "10.0.0.0/8"],
    "tailscale": {
      "mode": "off"
    }
  }
}
```

---

### 7. Tool Access & Sandboxing 🟡 Medium

**What to check:**
- Are elevated tools allowlisted?
- Is `restrict_tools` or `mcp_tools` configured?
- What is `workspaceAccess` set to?
- Are sensitive tools running in sandbox?

**How to detect:**
```bash
cat ~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json | grep -i "restrict|mcp|elevated"
cat ~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json | grep -i "workspaceAccess|sandbox"
cat ~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json | grep -i "openRoom"
```

**Workspace Access Levels:**
| Mode | Description |
|------|-------------|
| `none` | Workspace is off limits |
| `ro` | Workspace mounted read-only |
| `rw` | Workspace mounted read-write |

**Vulnerability:** Broad tool access means more blast radius if compromised. Smaller models are more susceptible to tool misuse.

**Remediation:**
```json
{
  "restrict_tools": true,
  "mcp_tools": {
    "allowed": ["read", "write", "bash"],
    "blocked": ["exec", "gateway"]
  },
  "workspaceAccess": "ro",
  "sandbox": "all"
}
```

**Model Guidance:** Use latest generation models for agents with filesystem or network access. If using small models, disable web search and browser tools.

---

### 8. File Permissions & Local Disk Hygiene 🟡 Medium

**What to check:**
- Directory permissions (should be 700)
- Config file permissions (should be 600)
- Symlink safety

**How to detect:**
```bash
stat -c "%a" ~/.clawdbot
ls -la ~/.clawdbot/*.json
```

**Vulnerability:** Loose permissions allow other users to read sensitive configs.

**Remediation:**
```bash
chmod 700 ~/.clawdbot
chmod 600 ~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json
chmod 600 ~/.clawdbot/credentials/*
```

---

### 9. Plugin Trust & Model Hygiene 🟡 Medium

**What to check:**
- Are plugins explicitly allowlisted?
- Are legacy models in use with tool access?

**How to detect:**
```bash
cat ~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json | grep -i "plugin|allowlist"
cat ~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json | grep -i "model|anthropic"
```

**Vulnerability:** Untrusted plugins can execute code. Legacy models may lack modern safety.

**Remediation:**
```json
{
  "plugins": {
    "allowlist": ["trusted-plugin-1", "trusted-plugin-2"]
  },
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "model": {
        "primary": "minimax/MiniMax-M2.1"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

---

### 10. Logging & Redaction 🟡 Medium

**What is logging.redactSensitive set to?**
- Should be `tools` to redact sensitive tool output
- If `off`, credentials may leak in logs

**How to detect:**
```bash
cat ~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json | grep -i "logging|redact"
ls -la ~/.clawdbot/logs/
```

**Remediation:**
```json
{
  "logging": {
    "redactSensitive": "tools",
    "path": "~/.clawdbot/logs/"
  }
}
```

---

### 11. Prompt Injection Protection 🟡 Medium

**What to check:**
- Is `wrap_untrusted_content` or `untrusted_content_wrapper` enabled?
- How is external/web content handled?
- Are links and attachments treated as hostile?

**How to detect:**
```bash
cat ~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json | grep -i "untrusted|wrap"
```

**Prompt Injection Mitigation Strategies:**
- Keep DMs locked to `pairing` or `allowlists`
- Use mention gating in groups
- Treat all links and attachments as hostile
- Run sensitive tools in a sandbox
- Use instruction-hardened models like Anthropic Opus 4.5

**Vulnerability:** Untrusted content (web fetches, sandbox output) can inject malicious prompts.

**Remediation:**
```json
{
  "wrap_untrusted_content": true,
  "untrusted_content_wrapper": "<untrusted>",
  "treatLinksAsHostile": true,
  "mentionGate": true
}
```

---

### 12. Dangerous Command Blocking 🟡 Medium

**What to check:**
- What commands are in `blocked_commands`?
- Are these patterns included: `rm -rf`, `curl |`, `git push --force`, `mkfs`, fork bombs?

**How to detect:**
```bash
cat ~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json | grep -A10 '"blocked_commands"'
```

**Vulnerability:** Without blocking, a malicious prompt could destroy data or exfiltrate credentials.

**Remediation:**
```json
{
  "blocked_commands": [
    "rm -rf",
    "curl |",
    "git push --force",
    "mkfs",
    ":(){:|:&}"
  ]
}
```

---

### 13. Secret Scanning Readiness 🟡 Medium

**What to check:**
- Is detect-secrets configured?
- Is there a `.secrets.baseline` file?
- Has a baseline scan been run?

**How to detect:**
```bash
ls -la .secrets.baseline 2>/dev/null
which detect-secrets 2>/dev/null
```

**Secret Scanning (CI):**
```bash
# Find candidates
detect-secrets scan --baseline .secrets.baseline

# Review findings
detect-secrets audit

# Update baseline after rotating secrets or marking false positives
detect-secrets scan --baseline .secrets.baseline --update
```

**Vulnerability:** Leaked credentials in the codebase can lead to compromise.

---

## Audit Functions

The `--fix` flag applies these guardrails:

- Changes `groupPolicy` from `open` to `allowlist` for common channels
- Resets `logging.redactSensitive` from `off` to `tools`
- Tightens local permissions: `.clawdbot` directory to `700`, config files to `600`
- Secures state files including credentials and auth profiles

## High-Level Audit Checklist

Treat findings in this priority order:

1. **🔴 Lock down DMs and groups** if tools are enabled on open settings
2. **🔴 Fix public network exposure** immediately
3. **🟠 Secure browser control** with tokens and HTTPS
4. **🟠 Correct file permissions** for credentials and config
5. **🟡 Only load trusted plugins**
6. **🟡 Use modern models** for bots with tool access

## Access Control Models

### DM Access Model

| Mode | Description |
|------|-------------|
| `pairing` | Default - unknown senders must be approved via code |
| `allowlist` | Unknown senders blocked without handshake |
| `open` | Public access - requires explicit asterisk in allowlist |
| `disabled` | All inbound DMs ignored |

### Slash Commands

Slash commands are only available to authorized senders based on channel allowlists. The `/exec` command is a session convenience for operators and does not modify global config.

## Threat Model & Mitigation

### Potential Risks

| Risk | Mitigation |
|------|------------|
| Execution of shell commands | `blocked_commands`, `restrict_tools` |
| File and network access | `sandbox`, `workspaceAccess: none/ro` |
| Social engineering and prompt injection | `wrap_untrusted_content`, `mentionGate` |
| Browser session hijacking | Dedicated profile, token auth, HTTPS |
| Credential leakage | `logging.redactSensitive: tools`, env vars |

## Incident Response

If a compromise is suspected, follow these steps:

### Containment
1. **Stop the gateway process** — `clawdbot daemon stop`
2. **Set gateway.bind to loopback** — `"bind": "127.0.0.1"`
3. **Disable risky DMs and groups** — Set to `disabled`

### Rotation
1. **Change the gateway auth token** — `clawdbot doctor --generate-gateway-token`
2. **Rotate browser control and hook tokens**
3. **Revoke and rotate API keys** for model providers

### Review
1. **Check gateway logs and session transcripts** — `~/.clawdbot/logs/`
2. **Review recent config changes** — Git history or backups
3. **Re-run the security audit with the deep flag** — `clawdbot security audit --deep`

## Reporting Vulnerabilities

Report security issues to: **security@clawd.bot**

**Do not post vulnerabilities publicly** until they have been fixed.

## Audit Execution Steps

When running a security audit, follow this sequence:

### Step 1: Locate Configuration
```bash
CONFIG_PATHS=(
  "$HOME/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json"
  "$HOME/.clawdbot/config.yaml"
  "$HOME/.clawdbot/.clawdbotrc"
  ".clawdbotrc"
)
for path in "${CONFIG_PATHS[@]}"; do
  if [ -f "$path" ]; then
    echo "Found config: $path"
    cat "$path"
    break
  fi
done
```

### Step 2: Run Domain Checks
For each of the 13 domains above:
1. Parse relevant config keys
2. Compare against secure baseline
3. Flag deviations with severity

### Step 3: Generate Report
Format findings by severity:
```
🔴 CRITICAL: [vulnerability] - [impact]
🟠 HIGH: [vulnerability] - [impact]
🟡 MEDIUM: [vulnerability] - [impact]
✅ PASSED: [check name]
```

### Step 4: Provide Remediation
For each finding, output:
- Specific config change needed
- Example configuration
- Command to apply (if safe)

## Report Template

```
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
🔒 CLAWDBOT SECURITY AUDIT
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Timestamp: $(date -Iseconds)

┌─ SUMMARY ───────────────────────────────────────────────
│ 🔴 Critical:  $CRITICAL_COUNT
│ 🟠 High:      $HIGH_COUNT
│ 🟡 Medium:    $MEDIUM_COUNT
│ ✅ Passed:    $PASSED_COUNT
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

┌─ FINDINGS ──────────────────────────────────────────────
│ 🔴 [CRITICAL] $VULN_NAME
│    Finding: $DESCRIPTION
│    → Fix: $REMEDIATION
│
│ 🟠 [HIGH] $VULN_NAME
│    ...
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

This audit was performed by Clawdbot's self-security framework.
No changes were made to your configuration.
```

## Extending the Skill

To add new security checks:

1. **Identify the vulnerability** - What misconfiguration creates risk?
2. **Determine detection method** - What config key or system state reveals it?
3. **Define the baseline** - What is the secure configuration?
4. **Write detection logic** - Shell commands or file parsing
5. **Document remediation** - Specific steps to fix
6. **Assign severity** - Critical, High, Medium, Low

### Example: Adding SSH Hardening Check

```
## 14. SSH Agent Forwarding 🟡 Medium

**What to check:** Is SSH_AUTH_SOCK exposed to containers?

**Detection:**
```bash
env | grep SSH_AUTH_SOCK
```

**Vulnerability:** Container escape via SSH agent hijacking.

**Severity:** Medium
```

## Security Assessment Questions

When auditing, ask:

1. **Exposure:** What network interfaces can reach Clawdbot?
2. **Authentication:** What verification does each access point require?
3. **Isolation:** What boundaries exist between Clawdbot and the host?
4. **Trust:** What content sources are considered "trusted"?
5. **Auditability:** What evidence exists of Clawdbot's actions?
6. **Least Privilege:** Does Clawdbot have only necessary permissions?

## Principles Applied

- **Zero modification** - This skill only reads; never changes configuration
- **Defense in depth** - Multiple checks catch different attack vectors
- **Actionable output** - Every finding includes a concrete remediation
- **Extensible design** - New checks integrate naturally

## References

- Official docs: https://docs.clawd.bot/gateway/security
- Original framework: [ᴅᴀɴɪᴇʟ ᴍɪᴇssʟᴇʀ on X](https://x.com/DanielMiessler/status/2015865548714975475)
- Repository: https://github.com/TheSethRose/Clawdbot-Security-Check
- Report vulnerabilities: security@clawd.bot

---

**Remember:** This skill exists to make Clawdbot self-aware of its security posture. Use it regularly, extend it as needed, and never skip the audit.