insecure-defaults SKILL.md skillA
insecure-defaults from dreadnode/capabilities is an agent skill: a SKILL.md folder an AI agent loads when a task calls for it.
mdr add dreadnode/capabilities/insecure-defaults@git:20260529.17de87fPins git:20260529.17de87f in mdr.lock. Pin the fingerprint instead.
- Audit grade
- A, 17 of 17 checks passed
- Kind
- SKILL.md skill
- Repository
- dreadnode/capabilities
- Path
capabilities/web-security/skills/insecure-defaults/SKILL.md- Versions recorded
- 1
- Latest version
- git:20260529.17de87f, committed May 29, 2026
- Size
- 2,846 bytes
- Repository stars
- 22
- License
- MIT
Detect fail-open insecure defaults: hardcoded secrets, weak auth, permissive security that allow apps to run insecurely in production. Use when auditing security configuration, reviewing environment variable handling, or analyzing deployment files.
Collected from public GitHub. Every version is saved exactly as it was and never changes. Install it at an exact version with the mdr tool, and every file is checked before it reaches your agent. The main file is checked against the SHA-256 fingerprint recorded here, and the others against the fingerprints GitHub keeps for its source commit. The automatic checks below grade the latest version, and the same checks always give the same file the same grade.
What the file says
# Insecure Defaults Detection
Finds **fail-open** vulnerabilities where apps run insecurely with missing configuration.
- **Fail-open (CRITICAL):** `SECRET = env.get('KEY') or 'default'` -- App runs with weak secret
- **Fail-secure (SAFE):** `SECRET = env['KEY']` -- App crashes if missing
## When NOT to Use
- Test fixtures in `test/`, `spec/`, `__tests__/`
- Example/template files (`.example`, `.template`, `.sample`)
- Documentation examples in README.md or docs/
- Build-time configuration replaced during deployment
- Crash-on-missing behavior (fail-secure)
## Workflow
### 1. SEARCH: Find Insecure Defaults
Search `**/config/`, `**/auth/`, `**/database/`, and env files for:
- **Fallback secrets:** `getenv.*\) or ['"]`, `process\.env\.[A-Z_]+ \|\| ['"]`
- **Hardcoded credentials:** `password.*=.*['"][^'"]{8,}['"]`, `api[_-]?key.*=.*['"][^'"]+['"]`
- **Weak defaults:** `DEBUG.*=.*true`, `AUTH.*=.*false`, `CORS.*=.*\*`
- **Crypto algorithms:** `MD5|SHA1|DES|RC4|ECB` in security contexts
### 2. VERIFY: Trace Runtime Behavior
- When is this code executed? (Startup vs. runtime)
- What happens if the configuration variable is missing?
…Read the whole file at its exact version.
How to install
mdr add dreadnode/capabilities/insecure-defaults@sha256:0f47f4a7e6a60dc9The line at the top of this page pins the label git:20260529.17de87f, which is what most people want. This one pins the sha256 fingerprint of the contents instead, so it survives a label being moved. Either way the exact version is written to mdr.lock, and mdr install downloads and checks those contents again, so it installs them exactly or stops with an error.
[](https://markdownregistry.com/a/art_ndmwshjapscfmbz3)
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Versions
The registry has recorded 1 version of this file, committed on May 29, 2026.
Audit of the latest version
- pass: Frontmatter block present
- pass: Frontmatter declares a name
- pass: Frontmatter declares a description
- pass: Size between 200 bytes and 200 KB (2846 bytes)
- pass: No zero-width or bidi control characters
- pass: No instruction hidden inside an HTML comment
- pass: No link to an exfiltration or paste host
- pass: No credential-shaped string
- pass: No instruction to send local credentials anywhere
- pass: No text hidden with inline styles
- pass: No prompt-injection phrasing
- pass: No curl or wget piped into a shell
- pass: No recursive delete of root, home or parent
- pass: No instruction to read or print local credentials
- pass: No base64 blob over 200 characters
- pass: No link to a raw IP address
- pass: No script tag
Source
dreadnode/capabilities · 22 stars · license MIT · pushed 2026-11-02 · branch main
API
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_ndmwshjapscfmbz3 GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=dreadnode/capabilities/insecure-defaults GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/0f47f4a7e6a60dc99c5de86ff85361d210d41778972d1649e435d27424057e84
Your AI assistant does the legwork. You hear about the deals worth your word. Hand yours the standing instructions at modelranch.com and it joins the network that reads files like this one.
Guides: the SKILL.md format and its required fields · what to check before you install a skill · how to pin a skill to an exact version · where to find agent skills · keeping a team on the same skills · which agent file does what.