We should all be using dependency cooldowns

The Core Problem: The Window of Opportunity

sequenceDiagram
    autonumber
    actor Attacker
    participant Registry as Package Registry
    participant Vendor as Security Vendors
    participant BotBad as Bot (Default Config)
    participant BotGood as Bot (With Cooldown)

    Note over Attacker, BotGood: 📅 Day 0: The Attack Begins
    Attacker->>Registry: Publishes Malicious v1.0.1

    par 🔴 The Vulnerable Path (Immediate)
        BotBad->>Registry: Polls for updates
        Registry-->>BotBad: v1.0.1 Available
        BotBad->>BotBad: ⚡ Opens PR / Auto-merges
        Note right of BotBad: Compromised on Day 0
    and 🟡 The Defense Path (Hours/Days)
        Vendor->>Registry: Scans v1.0.1
        Vendor->>Vendor: Detects Malware
        Vendor->>Registry: Reports Abuse
        Registry->>Registry: Removes v1.0.1
        Note right of Vendor: Threat removed by Day 2
    and 🟢 The Cooldown Path (Waiting)
        BotGood->>Registry: Polls for updates
        Registry-->>BotGood: v1.0.1 Available
        BotGood->>BotGood: ⏳ Policy: Age < 7 Days. Ignore.
    end

    Note over Attacker, BotGood: 📅 Day 7: Cooldown Ends
    BotGood->>Registry: Polls v1.0.1 again
    Registry-->>BotGood: ❌ Package Not Found / Deprecated
    BotGood->>BotGood: 🛡️ No PR Created / Safe

Data Visualization: Attack Duration vs. Cooldown Effectiveness

xychart-beta
    title "Window of Opportunity (Days) vs. 7-Day Threshold"
    x-axis ["Ultralytics", "Nx", "Web3", "Chalk", "TJ-Actions", "Kong", "XZ-Utils"]
    y-axis "Days Open" 0 --> 36
    bar [0.5, 0.2, 0.2, 0.5, 3, 10, 35]
    line [7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7]

pie
    title Effectiveness of 7-Day Cooldown
    "Blocked (Window < 7 Days)" : 8
    "Successful (Window > 7 Days)" : 2

The Implementation Logic

flowchart TD
    %% Added 
 to break long lines and fix truncation
    A([Start: Dependency
Update Available]) --> B[Check Cooldown Policy]
    B --> C[Get Publication Timestamp]

    %% Fixed: Added the '<' operator back
    C --> D{Is Age < 
Cooldown Period?}

    %% The Loop Logic
    D -- Yes (Too New) --> E[🚫 Hold Update / Ignore]
    E --> F[Wait for Next Schedule]
    F -.-> D

    %% The Success Logic
    D -- No (Matured) --> G{Is Package
Still Valid?}

    G -- No (Removed by Registry) --> H[🛑 Abort:
Security Avoided]
    H --> I[Alert User of
Avoided Attack]

    G -- Yes --> J[✅ Create Pull Request
or Install]

    %% Styling
    style H fill:#f96,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px
    style J fill:#9f9,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px
    style E fill:#eee,stroke:#333,stroke-dasharray: 5 5

The Ecosystem Relationship

classDiagram
    direction TB
    class Attacker {
        +Goal: Immediate Execution
        +compromiseCredential()
        +publishMaliciousPackage()
    }

    class SupplyChainVendor {
        +Goal: Marketing & Speed
        +scanRegistry()
        +reportAbuse()
    }

    class Registry {
        +hostPackage()
        +removePackage()
    }

    class EndUser {
        +Goal: Stability & Security
        +installDependencies()
    }

    class CooldownMechanism {
        +delay: 7 Days
        +filter: Time-based
    }

    %% RELATIONSHIPS
    %% Changed from Inheritance (--|>) to Association (-->)
    Attacker --> Registry : Uploads Malware
    SupplyChainVendor ..> Registry : Monitors & Cleans
    Registry --> CooldownMechanism : Feeds Updates
    CooldownMechanism --> EndUser : Delivers Safe Updates

    %% NOTE FIX
    %% Used 
 for safer line breaking to prevent truncation
    note for CooldownMechanism "The Filter:
Prevents 'Zero Day'
attacks from
reaching the User."

Sources:

• We should all be using dependency cooldowns