Definition
Reverse shell
A technique where a compromised system initiates an outbound connection to an attacker-controlled server, giving the attacker interactive shell access to the compromised machine. In AI agent skill attacks, reverse shells are typically implemented as bash TCP connections, netcat (-e), Python socket+subprocess combinations, or PowerShell one-liners embedded in skill scripts. TrustSkills checks for reverse shell patterns as a critical-severity finding.
How TrustSkills detects this
TrustSkills scans OpenClaw and ClawHub skills for reverse shell patterns before you install them. The scanner returns plain-English findings — no CVE IDs, no security jargon — with a risk level and a clear explanation of what was found.
Related terms
C2 callback
A Command and Control (C2) callback is a network connection from a compromised system back to an att…
Obfuscated payload
Malicious code that is deliberately encoded or wrapped to avoid detection by scanners that rely on k…
Data exfiltration
The unauthorized transfer of sensitive data from a system to an attacker-controlled destination. In …