zotero-synth
Fail
Audited by Gen Agent Trust Hub on Feb 17, 2026
Risk Level: HIGHEXTERNAL_DOWNLOADSREMOTE_CODE_EXECUTIONDATA_EXFILTRATIONCREDENTIALS_UNSAFECOMMAND_EXECUTION
Full Analysis
- EXTERNAL_DOWNLOADS (HIGH): The skill's primary functionality depends on the user installing the 'zotero-mcp' package directly from a non-whitelisted GitHub repository ('https://github.com/54yyyu/zotero-mcp.git'). This bypasses standard package registry safety checks.
- REMOTE_CODE_EXECUTION (HIGH): The skill explicitly instructs the user to run 'uv tool install' pointing to the external git repository, which results in the execution of unverified remote code on the local system.
- DATA_EXFILTRATION (HIGH): The file 'scripts/extract_papers.py' accesses the sensitive local Zotero database path ('~/Zotero/zotero.sqlite') and creates a temporary copy of it. While the script currently writes extracted data to a local JSON file, the combination of local database access and a dependency on unverified external code creates a high risk of sensitive data theft.
- CREDENTIALS_UNSAFE (MEDIUM): The skill requires and handles multiple API keys (ZOTERO_API_KEY, OPENAI_API_KEY, GEMINI_API_KEY). Documentation encourages storing these in environment variables, which makes them accessible to the unverified external tool and the agent.
- COMMAND_EXECUTION (MEDIUM): The skill uses shell commands in 'SKILL.md' (e.g., 'zotero-mcp version') to verify the environment. If the required third-party tool is malicious, these checks execute it directly.
- PROMPT_INJECTION (LOW): The skill processes untrusted data from academic papers (abstracts, annotations) without clear boundary markers or sanitization. Evidence: 1. Ingestion points: 'zotero-mcp' tool outputs and 'scripts/extract_papers.py' output. 2. Boundary markers: Absent in 'assets/prompts/' templates. 3. Capability inventory: File-write (zotero_extract.json), network API requests, and subprocess execution. 4. Sanitization: None detected.
Recommendations
- AI detected serious security threats
Audit Metadata