nanobot/poc/results/poc_report_20260204_020602.md

Security POC Test Results

Executive Summary

This report contains the results of proof-of-concept tests demonstrating vulnerabilities identified in the nanobot security audit.

Test Environment

• Date: Wed Feb 4 02:06:02 UTC 2026
• Platform: Docker containers (Python 3.11)
• Target: nanobot application

Vulnerability 1: Shell Command Injection

Severity: MEDIUM
Location: nanobot/agent/tools/shell.py

Description

The shell tool uses asyncio.create_subprocess_shell() which passes commands directly to the shell. While a regex pattern blocks some dangerous commands, many bypass techniques exist.

POC Results

See: results/shell_injection_results.json

Bypasses Demonstrated

• Command substitution: $(cat /etc/passwd)
• Base64 encoding: echo BASE64 | base64 -d | bash
• Alternative interpreters: python3 -c 'import os; ...'
• Environment exfiltration: env | grep KEY

Recommended Mitigations

1. Use create_subprocess_exec() instead of shell execution
2. Implement command whitelisting
3. Run in isolated container with minimal permissions
4. Use seccomp/AppArmor profiles

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Vulnerability 2: Path Traversal / Unrestricted File Access

Severity: MEDIUM
Location: nanobot/agent/tools/filesystem.py

Description

The _validate_path() function supports a base_dir parameter for restricting file access, but this parameter is never passed by any of the file tools, allowing unrestricted file system access.

POC Results

See: results/path_traversal_results.json

Access Demonstrated

• Read /etc/passwd - user enumeration
• Read environment variables via /proc/self/environ
• Write files to /tmp and other writable locations
• List any directory on the system

Recommended Mitigations

1. Always pass base_dir parameter with workspace path
2. Add additional path validation (no symlink following)
3. Run with minimal filesystem permissions
4. Use read-only mounts for sensitive directories

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Dependency Vulnerabilities

litellm (Current: >=1.61.15)

• Multiple CVEs in versions < 1.40.16 (RCE, SSRF)
• Current version appears patched
• Recommendation: Pin to specific patched version

ws (WebSocket) (Current: ^8.17.1)

• DoS vulnerability in versions < 8.17.1
• Current version appears patched
• Recommendation: Pin to specific patched version

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Conclusion

The POC tests confirm that the identified vulnerabilities are exploitable. While some mitigations exist (pattern blocking, timeouts), they can be bypassed.

Priority Recommendations

1. HIGH: Implement proper input validation for shell commands
2. HIGH: Enforce base_dir restriction for all file operations
3. MEDIUM: Pin dependency versions to known-good releases
4. LOW: Add rate limiting to authentication