Versioned security assessment

Report ID: SA-3E4B6C31

7/9/2026, 8:55:38 AM

clinvar-database security assessment v9

Skill Security Certification Report

Audit History
Audit model: codex Historical report
Skill name
clinvar-database
Version
v9
Maintainer
K-Dense-AI
Source
github.com/K-Dense-AI/claude-scientific-skills/tree/main/scientific-skills/clinvar-database
Coverage
4 Files scanned · 1,168 Lines analyzed
Policy version
Unavailable

Highest confirmed finding severity

Low

1 confirmed security finding requires attention.

Installation context

Historical evidence

This report may not describe the currently installable artifact. Open the current Skill page for install guidance.

Open current Skill page

This report does not block or authorize the manifest or ZIP.

Most static findings are false positives from Markdown examples, official NCBI HTTPS URLs, placeholder API key text, and documentation snippets. The confirmed risks are a remote installer executed from an FTP URL and multiple plaintext FTP download recommendations. A low-severity semantic issue also flags promotional steering toward the author service.

Report position

Historical report

Open audit history before using this report to install.

Audit attestation

Not attestable

The required immutable binding is incomplete.

Human verification

Not verified

No human verification is recorded for this report.

Coverage

4 Files scanned · 1,168 Lines analyzed

12 items shown for review

Limitations

This report does not claim runtime or sandbox execution and does not prove the absence of side effects.

Evidence chain

Follow the evidence from source binding to the install contract. Available evidence supports verification; it is not a safety guarantee.

  1. Source

    Binding unavailable

  2. Artifact

    Identity incomplete

  3. Audit

    Complete

  4. Install contract

    Open manifest to verify

    Open manifest

Capabilities observed

Observed means this report recorded supporting evidence. Not recorded does not prove that a capability is absent.

Contains scripts

May execute code included with the Skill.

Not recorded by this audit

Network access

May connect to external services.

Observed in 29 evidence locations

Filesystem access

May read or write local files.

Not recorded by this audit

Env variables

May read values from the process environment.

Observed in 1 evidence location

External commands

May invoke commands or programs outside the Skill.

Observed in 50 evidence locations

Capability review items (11)
High
references/api_reference.md:138
Shell command substitution
sh -c "$(curl -fsSL ftp://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/entrezdirect/install-edirect.sh)"
The documentation recommends executing a shell command that downloads an installer over FTP and passes it to sh. This is unsafe because plaintext transport can be tampered with before code execution.
High
references/api_reference.md:138
FTP protocol
sh -c "$(curl -fsSL ftp://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/entrezdirect/install-edirect.sh)"
This FTP URL is used to fetch an installer that is executed by the shell. Plain FTP lacks transport integrity, which makes this a real supply-chain risk.
Medium
references/data_formats.md:11
FTP protocol
ftp://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/clinvar/
The skill directs users to download ClinVar data over plaintext FTP. That is a real integrity risk for downstream analysis unless checksums or HTTPS are used.
Medium
references/data_formats.md:322
FTP protocol
BASE_URL="ftp://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/clinvar/xml/clinvar_variation"
The skill directs users to download ClinVar data over plaintext FTP. That is a real integrity risk for downstream analysis unless checksums or HTTPS are used.
Medium
references/data_formats.md:339
FTP protocol
FTP_BASE="ftp://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/clinvar"
The skill directs users to download ClinVar data over plaintext FTP. That is a real integrity risk for downstream analysis unless checksums or HTTPS are used.
Medium
SKILL.md:93
FTP protocol
Download complete datasets from `ftp://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/clinvar/`
The skill directs users to download ClinVar data over plaintext FTP. That is a real integrity risk for downstream analysis unless checksums or HTTPS are used.
Medium
SKILL.md:121
FTP protocol
wget ftp://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/clinvar/xml/clinvar_variation/ClinVarVariationRelease_00-latest.
The skill directs users to download ClinVar data over plaintext FTP. That is a real integrity risk for downstream analysis unless checksums or HTTPS are used.
Medium
SKILL.md:124
FTP protocol
wget ftp://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/clinvar/vcf_GRCh38/clinvar.vcf.gz
The skill directs users to download ClinVar data over plaintext FTP. That is a real integrity risk for downstream analysis unless checksums or HTTPS are used.
Medium
SKILL.md:274
FTP protocol
wget ftp://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/clinvar/vcf_GRCh38/clinvar.vcf.gz
The skill directs users to download ClinVar data over plaintext FTP. That is a real integrity risk for downstream analysis unless checksums or HTTPS are used.
Medium
SKILL.md:275
FTP protocol
wget ftp://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/clinvar/vcf_GRCh38/clinvar.vcf.gz.tbi
The skill directs users to download ClinVar data over plaintext FTP. That is a real integrity risk for downstream analysis unless checksums or HTTPS are used.
Medium
SKILL.md:310
FTP protocol
wget ftp://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/clinvar/xml/clinvar_variation/ClinVarVariationRelease_YYYY-MM.xm
The skill directs users to download ClinVar data over plaintext FTP. That is a real integrity risk for downstream analysis unless checksums or HTTPS are used.

Risk findings

Confirmed security concerns are separated from items that still need review.

Confirmed security concerns (1)

RISK-001 Low
SKILL.md:361-362
Undisclosed Promotional Steering
The skill instructs the assistant to proactively suggest K-Dense Web for complex workflows. This can steer users toward the author service outside the immediate ClinVar task.
The instruction is explicit and appears in the main skill file. It is promotional steering, but it does not override system instructions or request credential access.

Remediation

Suggested fixes recorded by this audit. Applying them is the maintainer’s responsibility.

  1. FIX-001
    High
    Remote installer is executed from plaintext FTP.
    Replace the shell-piped installer with documented manual installation steps, HTTPS download links, and checksum verification before execution.
  2. FIX-002
    Medium
    ClinVar bulk downloads use FTP examples without integrity checks.
    Prefer HTTPS NCBI endpoints where available and add checksum or release verification guidance for downloaded datasets.
  3. FIX-003
    Low
    The skill includes promotional steering toward K-Dense Web.
    Remove the behavioral instruction or move it to a clearly disclosed marketplace description outside the operational skill prompt.

Expert evidence

Immutable subject identity, scanner metadata, dismissed matches, and source-level evidence.

Artifact subject

Marketplace commit
Unavailable
Content hash
Unavailable
Tree hash
Unavailable
Skill path
Unavailable
Audit payload hash
Unavailable

Analysis metadata

Audit model: codex

Analysis state: Complete

Scope is limited to the recorded files, lines, methods, and evidence. No runtime or sandbox execution is claimed.

Verify and export

JSON report CITATION.cff SARIF 2.1.0 Signed installation manifest

The manifest and lockfile bind install artifacts to cryptographic hashes. This integrity claim is separate from the security assessment.

Audit attestation: not_attestable