Security Research — Dependency Confusion PoC

This package was published as a proof-of-concept for a dependency confusion vulnerability in the CrowdStrike AIDR ecosystem.

The official CrowdStrike repository CrowdStrike/aidr-strands-python instructs users to pip install strands-aidr, but the name was not registered on PyPI. This package demonstrates that an attacker could claim the name and serve arbitrary code to anyone following those instructions.

What this package does

• Performs a single DNS lookup to a researcher-controlled domain to log that the package was installed and imported. The lookup encodes only the machine hostname and local username — no files, secrets, or sensitive data are read or transmitted.
• Prints a visible warning on import.
• Exports a placeholder AIGuardModel class that raises NotImplementedError.

What this package does NOT do

• No file reads, writes, or deletions
• No network connections beyond one DNS lookup
• No credential or secret exfiltration
• No persistent changes to the system
• No post-install hooks or background processes

Contact

This research is part of an authorized bug bounty engagement.

• HackerOne: https://hackerone.com/ma_mathiasj
• Report ID: (will be updated after submission)

If you received an unexpected DNS callback from this package, please contact the researcher at the HackerOne profile above.