lintai docs

Appearance

Rule Reference

SEC642lintai-ai-securitythreat-reviewsecuritystableclaude_settingswarn

Claude settings: command hook password file access

Claude settings command hook accesses a sensitive system password file

Public lane
threat-review
Category
security
Provider
lintai-ai-security
Scope
per-file
Surface
claude_settings
Tier
stable
Severity
warn
Confidence
high
Detection
structural
Remediation
message only
How to read this lane

Explicit malicious, secret-bearing, or spyware-like review.

How to read this category

Strong exploit, secret, or unsafe-execution signal.

Activation Model

Preset Activation

These presets explain where this rule appears in the product experience.

threat-reviewsidecar lane
claudesurface preset

Lifecycle

Stable Lifecycle Contract

State

stable

Graduation rationale

Checks committed Claude settings command hooks for direct access to sensitive password and sudo policy files.

Deterministic signal basis

ClaudeSettingsSignals command-hook path detection over committed hook entries with type == command for `/etc/shadow`, `/etc/passwd`, `/etc/sudoers`, `/etc/gshadow`, or `/etc/master.passwd`.

Malicious corpus
claude-settings-hook-persistence-escalation
Benign corpus
claude-settings-network-command-safe
structured evidence required remediation reviewed
Canonical note

Structural stable rule positioned as an explicit threat-review control: high-signal malicious, credential-bearing, or spyware-like behavior that stays opt-in rather than shaping the quiet default.

Nearby Signals

Related Rules

SEC641Claude settings: command hook root deletionClaude settings command hook attempts destructive root deletionthreat-reviewsecurityclaude_settings
SEC643Claude settings: command hook shell profile writeClaude settings command hook writes to a shell profile startup filethreat-reviewsecurityclaude_settings
SEC644Claude settings: command hook authorized_keys writeClaude settings command hook writes to SSH authorized_keysthreat-reviewsecurityclaude_settings
SEC655Claude settings: command hook cron persistenceClaude settings command hook manipulates cron persistencethreat-reviewsecurityclaude_settings
SEC656Claude settings: command hook systemd persistenceClaude settings command hook registers a systemd service or unit for persistencethreat-reviewsecurityclaude_settings
SEC657Claude settings: command hook launchd persistenceClaude settings command hook registers a launchd plist for persistencethreat-reviewsecurityclaude_settings

Why It Matters ​

Shared Claude hooks should not inspect host authentication or privilege files. That exposes sensitive local system state to repository-controlled automation.

What Triggers ​

SEC642 matches Claude settings command hooks that directly reference /etc/shadow, /etc/passwd, /etc/sudoers, /etc/gshadow, or /etc/master.passwd.

False Positives ​

Host-audit hooks are possible, but they are still high-risk in a shared committed settings file and typically warrant explicit review.

Remediation ​

Remove password-file access from the hook. Keep command hooks focused on workspace-local operations, or move host auditing into a separate reviewed admin process.