security

name	security
description	Run security audits, vulnerability scans, and license checks for the VAK project.

Security Checks

This skill provides instructions for performing security audits on the VAK codebase.

Security Implementation Status

ID	Feature	Status	Implementation
SEC-001	Supply Chain Hardening	✅ Complete	.github/workflows/security.yml
SEC-002	License Compliance	✅ Complete	deny.toml, CI workflow
SEC-003	Unsafe Rust Audit	✅ Complete	#![deny(unsafe_code)] + docs
SEC-004	Prompt Injection Protection	✅ Complete	src/reasoner/prompt_injection.rs
SEC-005	Rate Limiting	✅ Complete	src/kernel/rate_limiter.rs

Prerequisites

• cargo-audit (cargo install cargo-audit --locked)
• cargo-deny (cargo install cargo-deny --locked)
• cargo-geiger (cargo install cargo-geiger --locked)
• cargo-sbom (cargo install cargo-sbom)
• clippy (rustup component add clippy)

CI/CD Integration

Security checks run automatically via .github/workflows/security.yml:

• On push: main, develop branches
• On PR: main branch
• Scheduled: Weekly on Sundays at midnight UTC

Instructions

Vulnerability Scan (SEC-001)

To scan dependencies for known vulnerabilities:

cargo audit

With strict mode (deny warnings):

cargo audit --deny warnings

Generate JSON report:

cargo audit --json > security-audit-report.json

License & Ban Check (SEC-002)

To check license compliance and banned crates:

cargo deny check

The project uses deny.toml with the following allowed licenses:

• MIT, Apache-2.0, BSD-2-Clause, BSD-3-Clause
• ISC, Zlib, 0BSD, MPL-2.0, CC0-1.0, Unlicense

Unsafe Code Audit (SEC-003)

The project uses #![deny(unsafe_code)] by default. To audit for unsafe usage in dependencies:

cargo geiger --all-features --all-targets

Current Status:

• Main crate: Denies unsafe code
• WASM skills: Documented unsafe blocks with // SAFETY: comments

Security Lints (Clippy)

To run security-focused Clippy lints:

cargo clippy --all-targets --all-features -- \
  -D clippy::unwrap_used \
  -D clippy::expect_used \
  -D clippy::panic \
  -W clippy::cognitive_complexity \
  -W clippy::too_many_arguments

Generate SBOM

To generate a Software Bill of Materials:

cargo sbom > sbom.json

Prompt Injection Protection (SEC-004)

The project includes built-in prompt injection detection:

use vak::reasoner::PromptInjectionDetector;

let detector = PromptInjectionDetector::new(DetectorConfig::default());
let result = detector.analyze(input_text);
match result.action {
    RecommendedAction::Allow => { /* proceed */ }
    RecommendedAction::Block => { /* reject input */ }
    _ => { /* log and review */ }
}

Detection categories:

• Instruction override attempts
• Role manipulation
• Context injection
• Unicode smuggling
• Encoding tricks

Rate Limiting (SEC-005)

Per-resource rate limiting is implemented in src/kernel/rate_limiter.rs:

• Per-agent+action+resource key limits
• Token bucket algorithm with configurable refill
• Burst allowance support

Examples

Check Specific Advisory

cargo audit --deny RUSTSEC-2023-0001

Check Licenses Only

cargo deny check licenses

Check Bans Only

cargo deny check bans

Full Security Audit Script

#!/bin/bash
set -e
echo "Running vulnerability scan..."
cargo audit --deny warnings
echo "Running license check..."
cargo deny check
echo "Running unsafe audit..."
cargo geiger --all-features || true
echo "Running security lints..."
cargo clippy --all-targets --all-features -- -D warnings
echo "All security checks passed!"

Guidelines

• Zero Tolerance: Critical and High vulnerabilities must be fixed immediately.
• Deny Unsafe: All unsafe blocks must have a // SAFETY: comment explaining why it is safe.
• License Compliance: Ensure all dependencies are compatible with the project license (MIT/Apache-2.0).
• No Panics: Production code should not use unwrap(), expect(), or panic!(). Use Result instead.
• Default Deny: Policy engine fails closed - no policy = no access (POL-007).
• Audit Trail: All security-relevant operations are logged to the immutable audit log.

Related Files

• .github/workflows/security.yml - CI security workflow
• deny.toml - cargo-deny configuration
• src/reasoner/prompt_injection.rs - Prompt injection detector
• src/kernel/rate_limiter.rs - Rate limiting implementation
• src/policy/enforcer.rs - Policy enforcement with fail-closed