# SkillSpector — Security Scanner for AI Agent Skills

> NVIDIA tool that analyzes AI agent skills and plugins for vulnerabilities, malicious patterns, and security risks before installation, protecting agent pipelines from supply-chain attacks.

## Install

Save as a script file and run:

# SkillSpector — Security Scanner for AI Agent Skills

## Quick Use
```bash
pip install skillspector
skillspector scan ./my-agent-skill
```

## Introduction
SkillSpector is a security analysis tool by NVIDIA that scans AI agent skills, plugins, and tool definitions for vulnerabilities and malicious patterns before they are deployed. As AI agents increasingly rely on third-party skills and integrations, SkillSpector helps teams vet these components for prompt injection, data exfiltration, and other supply-chain risks.

## What SkillSpector Does
- Scans agent skill definitions for prompt injection vulnerabilities
- Detects data exfiltration patterns in tool implementations
- Identifies overly permissive access scopes in skill configurations
- Checks for known malicious patterns in MCP server definitions and plugins
- Generates detailed security reports with severity ratings and remediation guidance

## Architecture Overview
SkillSpector parses skill manifests and tool definitions into an abstract syntax tree, then applies a set of static analysis rules that check for common attack vectors in AI agent integrations. It combines pattern matching with LLM-assisted analysis to catch both known vulnerability signatures and novel suspicious behaviors.

## Self-Hosting & Configuration
- Install via pip and run from the command line against any skill directory
- Configure scanning rules and severity thresholds in a YAML config file
- Integrate into CI/CD pipelines to block unsafe skills before deployment
- Supports scanning of OpenAI function definitions, MCP tools, and LangChain tools
- Output reports in JSON, SARIF, or human-readable formats

## Key Features
- Static analysis of agent tool definitions without executing the code
- LLM-assisted detection of subtle prompt injection and social engineering patterns
- SARIF output for integration with GitHub Code Scanning and IDE security panels
- Configurable rule sets to match organizational security policies
- Support for multiple agent framework formats including MCP and OpenAI plugins

## Comparison with Similar Tools
- **Garak** — LLM vulnerability scanner focused on model behavior; SkillSpector focuses on skill and plugin code
- **Semgrep** — general static analysis; SkillSpector has rules specific to AI agent attack surfaces
- **Snyk** — dependency vulnerability scanning; SkillSpector covers AI-specific supply chain risks
- **Promptfoo** — tests LLM prompt robustness; SkillSpector scans the tools and skills agents use

## FAQ
**Q: What agent frameworks does it support?**
A: It scans OpenAI function calling specs, MCP server definitions, LangChain tools, and generic Python-based agent skills.

**Q: Can it run in a CI pipeline?**
A: Yes. Use the CLI with JSON or SARIF output and set a severity threshold to fail the build on critical findings.

**Q: Does it require an API key?**
A: The static analysis engine runs locally. The optional LLM-assisted scan mode requires an API key for the configured model.

**Q: How does it detect prompt injection in skills?**
A: It analyzes tool descriptions, parameter schemas, and return value handling for patterns that could manipulate the agent's behavior.

## Sources
- https://github.com/NVIDIA/SkillSpector
- https://developer.nvidia.com/skillspector

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Author: Script Depot