Issues found running the system end-to-end on the NIST CFReDS Hacking Case
disk image (SCHARDT.001, Mr. Evil). Four interconnected fixes:
1. HypothesisAgent boundary leak (two layers)
B.1 Tool set: BaseAgent._register_graph_tools was registering
add_phenomenon / add_lead / link_to_entity for every agent. With
an empty graph in Phase 2, HypothesisAgent "compensated" by
inventing phenomena, dispatching leads, and linking entities.
B.2 Prompt leak: BaseAgent's shared system prompt hard-coded "Call
investigation tools (list_directory, parse_registry_key, etc.)".
HypothesisAgent hallucinated list_directory and wasted 2 LLM
rounds on 'unknown tool' errors before backing off.
Fix:
- Split _register_graph_tools into _register_graph_read_tools +
_register_graph_write_tools.
- HypothesisAgent, ReportAgent, TimelineAgent override
_register_graph_tools to skip write tools.
- HypothesisAgent and TimelineAgent override _build_system_prompt
with focused, role-specific workflows (no Phase A-D investigation
boilerplate).
2. JSON parse failures in Phase 3 lead generation (5/6 hypotheses lost)
DeepSeek emits JSON with stray backslashes (Windows path references)
and occasional minor syntax slips. Old single-stage sanitize couldn't
recover; per-hypothesis fallback silently swallowed each failure.
Fix:
- _safe_json_loads: progressive — stage 0 as-is, stage 1 escape stray
\X (anything not in valid JSON escape set), log raw input on final
failure for diagnosis.
- New _call_llm_for_json helper: on parse failure, append the error
to the prompt and re-call LLM (self-correcting retry, up to 2).
- All 4 LLM-JSON callsites in orchestrator refactored to use it.
3. Phase 1 sometimes skipped add_phenomenon (LLM treated <answer> as deliverable)
Strengthen BaseAgent's RECORDING REQUIREMENT — explicit "your <answer>
is DISCARDED; only graph mutations propagate" plus a new rule:
negative findings (searched X, found nothing) MUST also be recorded
as phenomena, since they constrain the hypothesis space.
4. Phase 4 Timeline was a no-op
TimelineAgent inherited BaseAgent's Phase A-D prompt and never called
add_temporal_edge — produced 0 temporal edges. Override the prompt
with concrete workflow (build_filesystem_timeline ->
get_timestamped_phenomena -> 15-40 add_temporal_edge calls) and
restrict tool set to read-only + its 3 temporal tools.
Verified end-to-end: HypothesisAgent now 8 tools (no writes), ReportAgent
13 (no graph writes), TimelineAgent 10 (read + temporal + timeline).
All 60 unit tests pass.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
141 lines
6.1 KiB
Python
141 lines
6.1 KiB
Python
"""Timeline Agent — connects existing phenomena with temporal edges.
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Operates on phenomena already in the graph. Does NOT investigate the disk
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image itself. The agent's only useful output is the temporal edges it
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creates between phenomena.
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"""
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from __future__ import annotations
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import logging
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from base_agent import BaseAgent
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from evidence_graph import EvidenceGraph
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from llm_client import LLMClient
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from tool_registry import TOOL_CATALOG
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logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
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class TimelineAgent(BaseAgent):
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name = "timeline"
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role = (
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"Timeline forensic analyst. You build chronological timelines from filesystem "
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"MAC timestamps and correlate events across all phenomena categories in the "
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"evidence graph to reconstruct the sequence of activities on the system."
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)
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def __init__(self, llm: LLMClient, graph: EvidenceGraph) -> None:
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super().__init__(llm, graph)
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self._register_tools()
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def _register_graph_tools(self) -> None:
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"""Restrict to read-only graph tools — Timeline does not add phenomena."""
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self._register_graph_read_tools()
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def _register_tools(self) -> None:
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td = TOOL_CATALOG.get("build_filesystem_timeline")
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if td:
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self.register_tool(td.name, td.description, td.input_schema, td.executor)
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self.register_tool(
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name="get_timestamped_phenomena",
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description=(
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"Get all phenomena that have timestamps, sorted chronologically. "
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"Returns each phenomenon's id, category, title, and a short description "
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"preview. Use this as your primary input for temporal correlation."
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),
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input_schema={"type": "object", "properties": {}},
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executor=self._get_timestamped_phenomena,
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)
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self.register_tool(
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name="add_temporal_edge",
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description=(
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"Add a temporal relationship edge between two existing phenomena. "
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"Use 'before' when source phenomenon happened before target, "
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"'concurrent' when they occurred within seconds of each other."
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),
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input_schema={
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"type": "object",
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"properties": {
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"source_id": {"type": "string", "description": "ID of the earlier/source phenomenon."},
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"target_id": {"type": "string", "description": "ID of the later/target phenomenon."},
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"relation": {
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"type": "string",
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"enum": ["before", "after", "concurrent"],
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"description": "Temporal relationship.",
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},
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},
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"required": ["source_id", "target_id", "relation"],
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},
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executor=self._add_temporal_edge,
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)
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def _build_system_prompt(self, task: str) -> str:
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"""Focused prompt — Timeline connects existing phenomena, doesn't investigate."""
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return (
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f"You are {self.name}, a forensic timeline correlation analyst.\n"
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f"Role: {self.role}\n\n"
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f"Image: {self.graph.image_path}\n"
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f"Current state: {self.graph.stats_summary()}\n\n"
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f"Your task: {task}\n\n"
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f"WORKFLOW:\n"
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f"1. Call build_filesystem_timeline once to materialize MAC times for the disk.\n"
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f"2. Call get_timestamped_phenomena to see all phenomena with timestamps, "
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f"sorted chronologically. THIS IS YOUR PRIMARY INPUT.\n"
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f"3. For each meaningful temporal relationship between phenomena, call "
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f"add_temporal_edge(source_id, target_id, relation). Use 'before' when "
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f"source happened first (the common case); 'concurrent' for events within "
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f"a few seconds of each other.\n"
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f" Examples of meaningful connections:\n"
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f" - 'Cain installer executed' (before) 'Cain.exe first execution'\n"
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f" - 'WHOIS first lookup' (before) 'WHOIS second lookup'\n"
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f" - 'Recon tool cluster' (before) 'Anti-forensics defrag'\n"
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f" - 'Tool installation' (before) 'Tool execution'\n"
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f"4. Aim for 15-40 temporal edges that connect the major events into a "
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f"forensic story.\n"
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f"5. Wrap a short summary in <answer> when done.\n\n"
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f"STRICT BOUNDARIES:\n"
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f"- Your job is to CONNECT existing phenomena, NOT to discover new ones. "
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f"You CANNOT call add_phenomenon — the tool isn't yours.\n"
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f"- Use ONLY phenomenon IDs returned by get_timestamped_phenomena or "
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f"list_phenomena. NEVER fabricate IDs.\n"
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f"- Connect events that tell a forensic story (recon -> exploit -> cover-up). "
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f"Do not exhaustively pair every two phenomena; focus on causally-relevant "
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f"sequences.\n"
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f"- The orchestrator handles report writing in the next phase. Your only "
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f"output that propagates is the temporal edges you create."
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)
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async def _get_timestamped_phenomena(self) -> str:
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items = [
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ph for ph in self.graph.phenomena.values()
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if ph.timestamp
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]
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items.sort(key=lambda ph: ph.timestamp or "")
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if not items:
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return "No phenomena with timestamps found."
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lines = []
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for ph in items:
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lines.append(f"{ph.timestamp} | [{ph.category}] {ph.title} ({ph.id})")
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lines.append(f" {ph.description[:150]}")
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return "\n".join(lines)
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async def _add_temporal_edge(
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self, source_id: str, target_id: str, relation: str,
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) -> str:
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try:
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await self.graph.add_edge(
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source_id=source_id,
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target_id=target_id,
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edge_type="temporal",
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metadata={"relation": relation},
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created_by=self.name,
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)
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return f"Temporal edge added: {source_id} —[{relation}]→ {target_id}"
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except ValueError as e:
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return f"Error: {e}"
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