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Variant Analysis

Checked
trailofbits·vlatest·backend·CC-BY-SA-4.0

Analyzes code variants to identify potential vulnerabilities introduced by changes or refactoring.

Repository

Install on your platform

Showing Claude Code. One command installs this skill into any of the agents below.

  1. 1

    Run this in your project

    terminal
    $ npx skills add trailofbits/skills --skill variant-analysis -a claude-code

  2. Uses the open-source skills CLI and needs Node.js. Add -g to install it for your user instead of this project.

What we know about this skill

Publisher

trailofbits

Taken from the source listing. We haven't verified who controls this account.

Install target

Live repository

Not pinned. Installing fetches whatever the repository holds at the time you run the command.

No human has reviewed this code. The checks below are a static scan of the files at one commit — nobody has run this skill or judged whether it works. A skill runs with whatever access you give your agent, so read the source before you install it.

Automated safety checks

scanned

This skill passed all 6 checks. We read its files at one commit and looked for the things that make a skill dangerous to run — not for whether it works.

  • Declares what it does: passed

    SKILL.md parses and declares a name and a description.

    SKILL.md exists, its frontmatter parses, and it declares a name and a description.

  • No undeclared network calls: passed

    Makes no network calls.

    Every host the skill dials — from its scripts, its config endpoints or the commands it tells the agent to run — is either well-known package and API infrastructure or declared in its own frontmatter. Links in documentation are not counted.

  • No obfuscated payloads: passed

    No encoded or obfuscated payloads.

    No base64, hex or compressed blob is decoded and then executed, and no encoded shell commands.

  • No credential access: passed

    Reads no keys, tokens, keychains or credential files.

    Neither the code nor the SKILL.md instructions read SSH keys, cloud credentials, keychains, token stores, browser cookie databases or dotfiles that hold secrets.

  • No pipe-to-shell installers: passed

    No pipe-to-shell or download-and-run installers.

    No `curl … | sh` pattern, in the code or in the instructions, that runs code fetched at run time.

  • Pinned to a commit: passed

    Scanned trailofbits/skills at 82fe822625.

    The exact upstream commit SHA that was scanned is recorded, so the result refers to specific bytes.

Commit
82fe822625
Manifest
plugins/variant-analysis/skills/variant-analysis/SKILL.md
Scanned
12 files, 878 lines
This is a static scan, not a review. It reads the skill's files; it does not run them, and it cannot tell you whether the skill is any good or whether the code does what its description says. A skill runs with whatever access you give your agent.
What each check looks for →

About this skill

What it does

This skill performs variant analysis, identifying and comparing different versions of a code or configuration file. It helps to understand changes between releases, pinpoint regressions, and ensure consistency across environments by highlighting differences in structure and content. The tool is useful for security audits and ensuring proper configurations are deployed.

When to use it

  • Comparing two versions of a Dockerfile to identify potential vulnerabilities introduced in the latest update.
  • Analyzing configuration files (e.g., Kubernetes manifests) before deployment to catch unintentional changes.
  • Auditing codebases by comparing different branches or commits to understand the evolution of security-relevant logic.
  • Identifying discrepancies between a local development environment and production server configurations.

Key capabilities

  • Code/Configuration file comparison
  • Identification of structural differences
  • Highlighting content changes
  • Security audit support

Example prompts

  • "Compare this Dockerfile (paste Dockerfile contents) with the previous version (paste previous Dockerfile contents)."
  • "Show me the differences between these two Kubernetes manifests: (paste manifest 1), (paste manifest 2)."
  • “Analyze these two code files to highlight any potential security regressions.”

Tips & gotchas

The skill requires access to the files being compared. Ensure the AI agent has appropriate permissions or file paths to accurately perform the analysis.