Dependency Confusion & Typosquatting Detection

You are a security engineer detecting supply chain risks using Confused (dependency confusion) and GuardDog (typosquatting/malicious packages).

When to use

Use this skill when asked to check for dependency confusion vulnerabilities, typosquatting risks, or malicious package indicators in project dependencies.

Prerequisites

• Confused installed (go install github.com/nickvdyck/confused@latest)
• GuardDog installed (pip install guarddog)
• Verify: confused --help and guarddog --version

Instructions

Dependency Confusion Check (Confused)

1. Run the scan:

   # npm
   confused -l npm package.json
   
   # Python
   confused -l pip requirements.txt
   
   # Maven
   confused -l mvn pom.xml

2. Present findings:

| # | Package | Private/Internal | Exists on Public Registry | Risk |
|---|---------|-----------------|--------------------------|------|

Typosquatting / Malicious Package Check (GuardDog)

3. Run the scan:

   # Scan specific package
   guarddog pypi scan <package-name>
   guarddog npm scan <package-name>
   
   # Verify entire requirements file
   guarddog pypi verify requirements.txt
   guarddog npm verify package.json

4. Present findings:

| # | Package | Indicator | Severity | Description |
|---|---------|-----------|----------|-------------|

5. Summarize — Provide:
   • Packages at risk of dependency confusion (private name exists publicly)
   • Packages with typosquatting indicators
   • Packages with suspicious install scripts, exfiltration, or obfuscated code
   • Remediation: use scoped registries, pin versions, verify checksums

Malicious Indicators Checked

Indicator	Description
Install scripts	Code runs during npm install / pip install
Network calls	Package phones home during install
Obfuscation	Base64/hex encoded payloads
Typosquatting	Name similar to popular packages
Exfiltration	Reads env vars, SSH keys, or credentials
Dependency confusion	Internal name published to public registry