topcoder-applet

maintainer Koushik_Sahu · 0 votes · scanned 2026-08-03 00:08:14.047287

LOW

Why flagged The PKGBUILD downloads a JNLP file from topcoder.com (which IS the official TopCoder domain — the cheaper model's claim that it's 'non-standard' is incorrect). The JNLP file itself is not directly executed during the build/install phase; it is copied to /usr/local/topcoder and a .desktop file is installed. The actual execution happens later when the user launches it via javaws. There is an MD5 checksum (weak but present). The main concerns are: (1) MD5 is a weak integrity check, (2) no HTTPS for the source URL (plain HTTP), (3) the JNLP is a vendor-provided launcher that will download and run Java code at runtime from TopCoder's servers — but this is the intended behavior of JNLP/Java Web Start. The source host is the official vendor domain. This is sloppy packaging (HTTP instead of HTTPS, weak checksums, installing to $HOME during package()) but not a genuine supply-chain attack from an unofficial host. Rating low rather than medium because the source is the official vendor domain.

Triggered rules

LOW AI review downgraded a static finding llm_review

The static rules flagged this MEDIUM, but an AI model (anthropic/claude-4.6-sonnet-20260217) reviewed the full PKGBUILD and judged it LOW (confidence 75%): The PKGBUILD downloads a JNLP file from topcoder.com (which IS the official TopCoder domain — the cheaper model's claim that it's 'non-standard' is incorrect). The JNLP file itself is not directly executed during the build/install phase; it is copied to /usr/local/topcoder and a .desktop file is installed. The actual execution happens later when the user launches it via javaws. There is an MD5 checksum (weak but present). The main concerns are: (1) MD5 is a weak integrity check, (2) no HTTPS for the source URL (plain HTTP), (3) the JNLP is a vendor-provided launcher that will download and run Java code at runtime from TopCoder's servers — but this is the intended behavior of JNLP/Java Web Start. The source host is the official vendor domain. This is sloppy packaging (HTTP instead of HTTPS, weak checksums, installing to $HOME during package()) but not a genuine supply-chain attack from an unofficial host. Rating low rather than medium because the source is the official vendor domain.

1 higher static finding superseded - not the current verdict (shown for transparency)

MEDIUM source=() URL on a non-standard host source_untrusted_domain

One or more source=() URLs point to a host outside the trusted allowlist (github.com, gitlab.com, codeberg.org, pypi.org, …).

PKGBUILD:27 source=("http://topcoder.com/contest/arena/ContestAppletProd7.2.jnlp"

PKGBUILD

1 offending line(s) highlighted

      1# This is an example PKGBUILD file. Use this as a start to creating your own,
    
      2# and remove these comments. For more information, see 'man PKGBUILD'.
    
      3# NOTE: Please fill out the license field for your package! If it is unknown,
    
      4# then please put 'unknown'.
    
      5
    
      6# Maintainer: Koushik Sahu <koushiksahu68@gmail.com>
    
      7pkgname=topcoder-applet
    
      8pkgver=1.0
    
      9pkgrel=1
    
      10epoch=
    
      11pkgdesc="TopCoder applet for participating and practicing on TopCoder competitive programming events. All rights to the TopCoder applet are reserved by TopCoder, Inc."
    
      12arch=('x86_64')
    
      13url="https://www.topcoder.com/community/arena"
    
      14license=('unknown')
    
      15groups=()
    
      16depends=(jre8)
    
      17makedepends=()
    
      18checkdepends=()
    
      19optdepends=()
    
      20provides=()
    
      21conflicts=()
    
      22replaces=()
    
      23backup=()
    
      24options=()
    
      25install=
    
      26changelog=
    
      27source=("http://topcoder.com/contest/arena/ContestAppletProd7.2.jnlp"
    
      28          "topcoder_logo.png"
    
      29          "topcoder-applet.desktop")
    
      30noextract=()
    
      31md5sums=('938ae37090f43dfc69ffe03efddf6f5c' 'e678ae8884b6b3a0d3a4fc4539b26a50' '64e45a763b70e950f716d7d81cd6435a')
    
      32validpgpkeys=()
    
      33programname="ContestAppletProd7.2.jnlp"
    
      34logoname="topcoder_logo.png"
    
      35desktopname="topcoder-applet.desktop"
    
      36
    
      37package() {
    
      38  mkdir -p $pkgdir/usr/local/topcoder
    
      39  mkdir -p $pkgdir$HOME/.local/share/applications
    
      40
    
      41  cp $programname $pkgdir/usr/local/topcoder
    
      42  cp $logoname $pkgdir/usr/local/topcoder
    
      43
    
      44  cp $desktopname $pkgdir$HOME/.local/share/applications
    
      45  chmod +x $pkgdir$HOME/.local/share/applications/$desktopname 
    
      46
    
      47}
    
      48
    
      49

Scan history

Scanned at (UTC)	Severity	Rules
2026-08-03 00:08:14	LOW	2
2026-08-02 00:16:08	LOW	2
2026-08-01 00:11:18	LOW	2
2026-07-31 00:14:10	LOW	2
2026-07-30 00:17:23	LOW	2
2026-07-29 00:25:53	LOW	2
2026-07-28 00:07:28	LOW	2
2026-07-27 00:24:32	LOW	2
2026-07-26 00:07:32	LOW	2
2026-07-25 00:13:44	LOW	2
2026-07-24 00:02:28	LOW	2
2026-07-23 00:14:47	LOW	2
2026-07-22 00:29:32	LOW	2
2026-07-21 00:24:15	LOW	2
2026-07-20 00:19:49	LOW	2
2026-07-19 00:17:08	LOW	2
2026-07-18 00:14:48	LOW	2
2026-07-17 00:06:16	LOW	2
2026-07-16 00:05:41	LOW	2
2026-07-15 00:09:25	LOW	2