analyzing-dependencies

name	analyzing-dependencies
description	Analyze dependencies for known security vulnerabilities and outdated versions. Use when auditing third-party libraries. Trigger with 'check dependencies', 'scan for vulnerabilities', or 'audit packages'.
version	1.27.0
allowed-tools	Read, Write, Edit, Grep, Glob, Bash(security:*), Bash(scan:*), Bash(audit:*)
license	MIT
author	Jeremy Longshore <[e-mail]>
tags	["security","audit","analyzing-dependencies"]
compatibility	Designed for Claude Code, also compatible with Codex and OpenClaw

Analyzing Dependencies

Overview

Analyze project dependencies for known security vulnerabilities, outdated versions, and license compliance issues across multiple package ecosystems. This skill inspects npm, pip, Composer, Gem, Go module, and Cargo manifests and lock files, cross-references findings against CVE databases, and produces actionable remediation guidance with upgrade paths.

Prerequisites

• Access to the target project directory and manifest files in ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/
• At least one package manager CLI available: npm, pip/pip-audit, composer, gem, go, or cargo
• Network access for querying vulnerability databases (NVD, GitHub Advisory Database, OSV)
• Reference: ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/README.md for npm/pip audit report formats, license compatibility matrix, and dependency management best practices

Instructions

1. Detect the project ecosystem by scanning ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/ for manifest files: package.json and package-lock.json (npm/Node.js), requirements.txt/pyproject.toml/Pipfile.lock (Python), composer.json/composer.lock (PHP), Gemfile/Gemfile.lock (Ruby), go.mod/go.sum (Go), Cargo.toml/Cargo.lock (Rust).
2. For npm projects, run npm audit --json and parse the structured output. Map each advisory to its CVE identifier, CVSS score, severity level, vulnerable version range, and patched version.
3. For Python projects, run pip-audit --format=json or parse safety check --json output. Cross-reference each vulnerability against the OSV database for additional context.
4. For other ecosystems, run the equivalent audit command (composer audit, bundle audit, cargo audit, govulncheck) and normalize the output to a common finding format.
5. Analyze the dependency tree for transitive vulnerabilities -- identify which direct dependency pulls in the vulnerable transitive dependency, and whether upgrading the direct dependency resolves the issue.