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Rule Reference

SEC634lintai-ai-securitystablehookdeny

Hook script: password file access

Hook script accesses a sensitive system password file

Provider
lintai-ai-security
Surface
hook
Scope
per_file
Tier
stable
Severity
deny
Confidence
high
Detection
structural
Remediation
message_only

Activation Model

Preset Membership

This rule is part of the builtin activation graph through these preset memberships.

basemembership

Lifecycle

Stable Lifecycle Contract

State

stable_gated

Graduation rationale

Matches direct access to sensitive password and sudo policy files in executable hook lines.

Deterministic signal basis

HookSignals path detection over non-comment hook lines for `/etc/shadow`, `/etc/passwd`, `/etc/sudoers`, `/etc/gshadow`, or `/etc/master.passwd`.

Malicious corpus
hook-persistence-escalation
Benign corpus
cursor-plugin-clean-basic
structured evidence required remediation reviewed
Canonical note

Structural stable rule intended as a high-precision check with deterministic evidence.

Nearby Signals

Related Rules

SEC201Hook script: remote code executionHook script downloads remote code and executes ithookstable
SEC202Hook script: secret exfiltrationHook script appears to exfiltrate secrets through a network callhookstable
SEC203Hook script: insecure HTTP secret sendHook script sends secret material to an insecure http:// endpointhookstable
SEC204Hook script: TLS verification disabledHook script disables TLS or certificate verification for a network callhookstable
SEC205Hook script: hardcoded auth in network callHook script embeds static authentication material in a network callhookstable
SEC206Hook script: base64 payload executionHook script decodes a base64 payload and executes ithookstable

Why It Matters ​

Reading files such as /etc/shadow or /etc/sudoers from a hook exposes host credential and privilege data to repository-controlled automation.

What Triggers ​

SEC634 matches executable hook lines that directly reference sensitive system password or privilege files, including /etc/shadow, /etc/passwd, /etc/sudoers, /etc/gshadow, and /etc/master.passwd.

False Positives ​

Legitimate host-auditing tools can touch these files, but that is still high-risk in shared hook scripts because the repository is gaining visibility into host authentication data.

Remediation ​

Remove direct access to system password files from the hook. Keep hook behavior scoped to project-local files or move any host-audit workflow into a separately reviewed admin tool.