xpath-xslt

XPath + XSLT injection — query manipulation in XML data stores, server-side XSLT RCE via document() / EXSLT extensions.

Quality

70%

Does it follow best practices?

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Securityby

Critical

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tessl review fix ./packages/decepticon/decepticon/skills/standard/exploit/web/xpath-xslt/SKILL.md

Quality

Content

81%Weight 40%Scale 1-5

Reviews the quality of instructions and guidance provided to agents. Good implementation is clear, handles edge cases, and produces reliable results.

The skill body is exceptionally lean and actionable, packed with runnable payloads and a complete PoC across all major XPath/XSLT attack classes. Its weakness is the lack of an explicit, sequenced exploitation workflow with validation checkpoints for destructive/batch probing.

Suggestions

Add a short numbered workflow for safe exploitation (e.g., 1. confirm XML/XSLT endpoint, 2. test auth bypass, 3. confirm via document() file read, 4. escalate) to improve workflow clarity.

Include a validation/verification checkpoint (e.g., confirm RCE via echoed command output) before escalating payloads.

Move the longer payload catalog into a references/ payload file and link to it from the PoC section to better leverage progressive disclosure.

Dimension	Reasoning	Score
Conciseness	The body is lean and efficient — short telegraphic sentences like "XPath = XML query language" and "Worse than XPath" assume competence, with every line carrying payload or detection value and no padding explaining basic concepts.	5 / 5
Actionability	Provides copy-paste ready payloads and a full executable curl PoC stylesheet block, with specific examples covering auth bypass, blind extraction, file read, SSRF, RCE, and XSS — the common cases are all addressed with runnable code.	5 / 5
Workflow Clarity	Sections cover detection, PoC, and defense, but there is no sequenced exploitation workflow and no validation/verification checkpoint for the destructive batch-style operations (mass payload probing, RCE), which caps workflow clarity at 3 per the feedback-loop guidance.	3 / 5
Progressive Disclosure	Content is well-organized into clear sections (XPath, XSLT, Detection, PoC, Severity, Defender, Cross-references) with cross-references to upstream corpus and XXE; no bundle files are present, but the in-body structure is appropriate for a skill under 100 lines, with only minor organization gaps.	4 / 5
	Total	17 / 20 Passed

Description

60%Weight 40%Scale 1-5

Based on the skill's description, can an agent find and select it at the right time? Clear, specific descriptions lead to better discovery.

The description is specific and distinctive, naming concrete XPath/XSLT attack techniques rather than vague language. Its main weakness is the absence of an explicit "Use when..." trigger clause, which caps completeness at 3.

Suggestions

Add an explicit trigger clause such as "Use when testing XML endpoints vulnerable to XPath query injection or server-side XSLT transforms." to raise completeness.

Include a few natural synonyms a user might say (e.g., "XML injection", "XSLT RCE") to broaden trigger-term coverage.

Clarify the "when" by mentioning contexts where these appear (e.g., legacy XML/SOAP services, report builders).

Dimension	Reasoning	Score
Specificity	Names the domain and several concrete actions ("query manipulation in XML data stores", "server-side XSLT RCE via document() / EXSLT extensions"), listing multiple specific techniques with only minor gaps in coverage.	4 / 5
Completeness	The "what" is clear (XPath/XSLT injection, query manipulation, RCE via extensions) but there is no explicit "Use when..." clause or equivalent trigger guidance, which caps completeness at 3 per the guidelines.	3 / 5
Trigger Term Quality	Includes natural terms users would say ("XPath", "XSLT", "injection", "XML") plus specific function names ("document()", "EXSLT"), with a few common synonyms or file extensions missing — good but not comprehensive coverage.	4 / 5
Distinctiveness Conflict Risk	The niche is fairly clear (XPath/XSLT injection specifically) and would not trigger for unrelated skills; minor overlap risk only with closely related XML attack skills like XXE.	4 / 5
	Total	15 / 20 Passed

Validation

93%

Warnings & errors only

Checks the skill against the spec for correct structure and formatting. All validation checks must pass before discovery and implementation can be scored.

Validation — 15 / 16 Passed

Validation for skill structure

Criteria	Description	Result
metadata_version	'metadata.version' is missing	Warning

	Total	15 / 16 Passed

Repository: PurpleAILAB/Decepticon
Path: packages/decepticon/decepticon/skills/standard/exploit/web/xpath-xslt/SKILL.md
Commit: 0cf691e

Reviewed: 2 days ago

Table of Contents

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