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# Workstation and Agents (WS)

- URL: /taxonomies/software-factory/workstation-and-agents/
- Published: 2026-10-31T13:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-29T13:30:02.935Z
- Description: Workstation and Agents (WS): 13 threats in the software factory threat taxonomy, each with a mitigation principle and design measures.
- Author: Brett Crawley

[Taxonomies](/taxonomies/) › [Software factory](/taxonomies/software-factory/) › Workstation and Agents

**Station 01 of 17 · Line 1, Source to Artifact · 13 threats · prefix WS**

The developer's machine holds credentials to everything downstream and runs more unvetted code than any server. These cards cover IDEs, extensions, dev containers, local tooling, and the AI assistants and agents that now act with a developer's authority.

**Scope:** IDEs, extensions, dev containers, local credentials, AI coding assistants and agents, pre-commit hooks.

![Table: Workstation and Agents (WS), 13 threats with their mitigation principles and design measures. The full text is in the PDF and Excel downloads on the software factory taxonomy overview page.](https://www.ostering.com/media/posts/104/taxonomy-table-01-WS.png =1400x5170)

*Text version: every entry on this page is in the [PDF and Excel downloads](/taxonomies/software-factory/) on the overview page, where it can be searched and copied.*

## The threats

- <span id="ws-a"></span>**WS·A** Credential Hoard
- <span id="ws-k"></span>**WS·K** Agent with Developer Authority
- <span id="ws-q"></span>**WS·Q** Malicious Extension
- <span id="ws-j"></span>**WS·J** Untrusted Workspace Execution
- <span id="ws-10"></span>**WS·10** Hallucinated Dependency
- <span id="ws-9"></span>**WS·9** Local Bypass of Controls
- <span id="ws-8"></span>**WS·8** Toolchain Drift
- <span id="ws-7"></span>**WS·7** Pre-Commit Blind Spot
- <span id="ws-6"></span>**WS·6** Agent Context Leakage
- <span id="ws-5"></span>**WS·5** Agent-Authored Change
- <span id="ws-4"></span>**WS·4** Remote Environment Exposure
- <span id="ws-3"></span>**WS·3** Cloned Secrets at Rest
- <span id="ws-2"></span>**WS·2** Configuration Sprawl

## Seen in the wild

- **WS·A Credential Hoard:** CircleCI session theft (2023); Shai-Hulud (2025).
- **WS·K Agent with Developer Authority:** Nx s1ngularity (2025); hackerbot-claw CLAUDE.md injection (2026).
- **WS·Q Malicious Extension:** GlassWorm on Open VSX (2025).
- **WS·J Untrusted Workspace Execution:** Contagious Interview repositories (2025–26).
- **WS·10 Hallucinated Dependency:** Package hallucination study (Spracklen et al., 2024).

Sources for each case are listed on the [overview page](/taxonomies/software-factory/).

## STRIDE, CAPEC and CWE

Of the 13 entries here, STRIDE fits 10 cleanly and 3 only loosely. CAPEC 3.9 has a pattern that describes 5 of them directly, only a generic parent pattern for 7, and nothing for 1. CWE 4.20 names the weakness directly for 7, has only a broader weakness for 6,. The table below gives the mapping entry by entry, with the names of the CAPEC patterns and CWE weaknesses; what the mapping shows across the whole taxonomy is in [Mapping the Software Factory Threat Taxonomy to STRIDE, CAPEC and CWE](/mapping-the-software-factory-threat-taxonomy/). The Excel, SKOS and STIX downloads carry the same mapping as text.

![Table: STRIDE, CAPEC and CWE mapping for Workstation and Agents (WS), 13 threats, with each entry's STRIDE categories and fit, CAPEC 3.9 patterns and CWE 4.20 weaknesses. The full mapping is in the Excel, SKOS and STIX downloads on the software factory taxonomy overview page.](https://www.ostering.com/media/posts/104/software-factory-mapping-table-01-WS.png =1400x2261)

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[Software factory overview](/taxonomies/software-factory/) · [Version Control (VC)](/taxonomies/software-factory/version-control/) →

*© 2026 Jonathan Brett Crawley. Licensed under [CC BY-NC-ND 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) with additional permissions: see the licence on the [software factory overview](/taxonomies/software-factory/).*
