rtk-ai__rtk/SECURITY.md

Security Policy

Reporting a Vulnerability

If you discover a security vulnerability in RTK, please report it to the maintainers privately:

• Email: security@rtk-ai.dev (or create a private security advisory on GitHub)
• Response time: We aim to acknowledge reports within 48 hours
• Disclosure: We follow responsible disclosure practices (90-day embargo)

Please do NOT:

• Open public GitHub issues for security vulnerabilities
• Disclose vulnerabilities on social media or forums before we've had a chance to address them

---

Security Review Process for Pull Requests

RTK is a CLI tool that executes shell commands and handles user input. PRs from external contributors undergo enhanced security review to protect against:

• Shell injection (command execution vulnerabilities)
• Supply chain attacks (malicious dependencies)
• Backdoors (logic bombs, exfiltration code)
• Data leaks (tracking.db exposure, telemetry abuse)

---

Automated Security Checks

Every PR triggers our security-check.yml workflow:

1. Dependency audit (cargo audit) - Detects known CVEs
2. Critical files alert - Flags modifications to high-risk files
3. Dangerous pattern scan - Regex-based detection of:
   • Shell execution (Command::new("sh"))
   • Environment manipulation (.env("LD_PRELOAD"))
   • Network operations (reqwest::, std::net::)
   • Unsafe code blocks
   • Panic-inducing patterns (.unwrap() in production)
4. Clippy security lints - Enforces Rust best practices

Results are posted in the PR's GitHub Actions summary.

---

Critical Files Requiring Enhanced Review

The following files are considered high-risk and trigger mandatory 2-reviewer approval:

Tier 1: Shell Execution & System Interaction

• src/runner.rs - Shell command execution engine (primary injection vector)
• src/summary.rs - Command output aggregation (data exfiltration risk)
• src/tracking.rs - SQLite database operations (privacy/telemetry concerns)

Tier 2: Input Validation

• src/pnpm_cmd.rs - Package name validation (prevents injection via malicious names)
• src/container.rs - Docker/container operations (privilege escalation risk)

Tier 3: Supply Chain & CI/CD

• Cargo.toml - Dependency manifest (typosquatting, backdoored crates)
• .github/workflows/*.yml - CI/CD pipelines (release tampering, secret exfiltration)

If your PR modifies ANY of these files, expect:

• Detailed manual security review
• Request for clarification on design choices
• Potentially slower merge timeline

---

Review Workflow

For External Contributors

1. Submit PR → Automated security-check.yml runs
2. Review automated results → Fix any flagged issues
3. Manual review → Maintainer performs comprehensive security audit
4. Approval → Merge (or request for changes)

For Maintainers

Use the comprehensive security review process:

# If Claude Code available, run the dedicated skill:
/rtk-pr-security <PR_NUMBER>

# Manual review (without Claude):
gh pr view <PR_NUMBER>
gh pr diff <PR_NUMBER> > /tmp/pr.diff
bash scripts/detect-dangerous-patterns.sh /tmp/pr.diff

Review checklist:

• No critical files modified OR changes justified + reviewed by 2 maintainers
• No dangerous patterns OR patterns explained + safe
• No new dependencies OR deps audited on crates.io (downloads, maintainer, license)
• PR description matches actual code changes (intent vs reality)
• No logic bombs (time-based triggers, conditional backdoors)
• Code quality acceptable (no unexplained complexity spikes)

---

Dangerous Patterns We Check For

Pattern	Risk	Example
Command::new("sh")	Shell injection	Spawns shell with user input
.env("LD_PRELOAD")	Library hijacking	Preloads malicious shared libraries
reqwest::, std::net::	Data exfiltration	Unexpected network operations
unsafe {	Memory safety	Bypasses Rust's guarantees
.unwrap() in src/	DoS via panic	Crashes on invalid input
SystemTime::now() > ...	Logic bombs	Delayed malicious behavior
Base64/hex strings	Obfuscation	Hides malicious URLs/commands

See Dangerous Patterns Reference for exploitation examples.

---

Dependency Security

New dependencies added to Cargo.toml must meet these criteria:

• Downloads: >10,000 on crates.io (or strong justification if lower)
• Maintainer: Verified GitHub profile + track record of other crates
• License: MIT or Apache-2.0 compatible
• Activity: Recent commits (within 6 months)
• No typosquatting: Manual verification against similar crate names

Red flags:

• Brand new crate (<1 month old) with low downloads
• Anonymous maintainer with no GitHub history
• Crate name suspiciously similar to popular crate (e.g., serid vs serde)
• License change in recent versions

---

Security Best Practices for Contributors

Avoid These Anti-Patterns

❌ DON'T:

// Shell injection risk
let user_input = get_arg();
Command::new("sh").arg("-c").arg(format!("echo {}", user_input)).output();

// Panic on invalid input
let path = std::env::args().nth(1).unwrap();

// Hardcoded secrets
const API_KEY: &str = "sk_live_1234567890abcdef";

✅ DO:

// No shell, direct binary execution
let user_input = get_arg();
Command::new("echo").arg(user_input).output();

// Graceful error handling
let path = std::env::args().nth(1).context("Missing path argument")?;

// Env vars or config files for secrets
let api_key = std::env::var("API_KEY").context("API_KEY not set")?;

Error Handling Guidelines

• Use anyhow::Result<T> with .context() for all error propagation
• NEVER use .unwrap() in src/ (tests are OK)
• Prefer .expect("descriptive message") over .unwrap() if unavoidable
• Use ? operator instead of unwrap() for propagation

Input Validation

• Validate all user input before passing to Command
• Use allowlists for command flags (not denylists)
• Canonicalize file paths to prevent traversal attacks
• Sanitize package names with strict regex patterns

---

Disclosure Timeline

When vulnerabilities are reported:

1. Day 0: Acknowledgment sent to reporter
2. Day 7: Maintainers assess severity and impact
3. Day 14: Patch development begins
4. Day 30: Patch released + CVE filed (if applicable)
5. Day 90: Public disclosure (or earlier if patch is deployed)

Critical vulnerabilities (remote code execution, data exfiltration) may be fast-tracked.

---

Security Tooling

• cargo audit - Automated CVE scanning (runs in CI)
• cargo deny - License compliance + banned dependencies
• cargo clippy - Lints for unsafe patterns
• GitHub Dependabot - Automated dependency updates
• GitHub Code Scanning - Static analysis via CodeQL (planned)

---

Contact

• Security issues: security@rtk-ai.dev
• General questions: https://github.com/rtk-ai/rtk/discussions
• Maintainers: @FlorianBruniaux (active fork maintainer)

---

Last updated: 2026-02-02