Attack Tree Construction
Lets the agent map attack paths into structured attack trees to reveal defense gaps and priorities.
- Repository
- wshobson/agents
- Stars
- 42,095
- Licence
- MIT
- Files
- 2 files
What it does
This skill teaches the agent a structured method for threat modeling: it breaks a security goal an attacker might pursue into sub-goals and concrete attack steps, arranged as a tree. Each step can be labelled OR (any path works) or AND (all steps required) and annotated with cost, time, required skill and likelihood of detection. The result is a visual map that helps teams see where defenses are weak and what to fix first, and explain risks to non-technical stakeholders. It is a planning and communication aid; it does not scan systems or test anything itself.
Great for
- Security engineers planning threat models or prioritising defensive investments
- Penetration testers organising attack scenarios before an engagement
- Architects reviewing a system design for weak points
- Teams who need to explain security risks to managers or non-specialists
Skip it if
- Hands-on vulnerability scanning or exploitation, since the skill only structures analysis and does not run tools (it would not find real bugs in your system)
- Situations needing verified facts about current threats, because the skill contains no live threat data and its advice is generic
- Producing detailed real-world attack instructions for a specific target, which could be misused; keep trees at the level needed for defence
Try asking
- “Build an attack tree for an attacker trying to steal customer payment data from our web app”
- “Map the attack paths to gain admin access on our internal API and mark which ones need insider access”
- “Turn these threat notes into an attack tree with cost, skill and detection ratings for the risk review”
- “Show me the defense gaps in this attack tree and suggest which mitigations to prioritise”
Install in 3 steps
- 1
Download the skill
The ZIP contains the 2 original files, the MIT licence and an attribution note.
attack-tree-construction.zip - 2
Add it to your agent
Claude Code (all projects)
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && unzip attack-tree-construction.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/Claude Code / Agent SDK (this project only)
mkdir -p .claude/skills && unzip attack-tree-construction.zip -d .claude/skills/Claude apps (web/desktop): Settings → Capabilities → Skills → Upload skill, and choose the ZIP.
- 3
Ask for the task
No special command needed — the agent reads the skill's description and loads it when your request matches. Try one of the prompts above.
Get better results
- Give the agent a concrete goal, system description and stakeholder audience so the tree stays relevant and not generic.
- Ask for the reference templates in references/details.md when you want worked examples to adapt.
- Review the output with domain experts; the skill itself stresses that trees need validation and regular updates.
What's inside
- references/details.md
- SKILL.md
Redistributed unmodified from wshobson/agents under the MIT licence. The assessment was drafted with AI from the skill's files on 2026-10-29. Skills can instruct your agent to run code — read SKILL.md and any scripts before installing.