Navil Shield — Runtime Security for OpenClaw#

VirusTotal scans skills before install. ClawSec checks file integrity. Navil Shield protects at runtime — watching what happens after install, while skills and MCP servers are actively executing.

Static scanning catches 1.7% of threats. Runtime monitoring catches the other 98.3%.

What This Skill Does#

Navil Shield wraps every MCP server in your OpenClaw config with a transparent security proxy that:

• Intercepts every tool call in real-time and checks it against 568+ known attack patterns across 30 categories
• Detects behavioral anomalies using 11 statistical detectors with adaptive baselines
• Enforces policies — restrict which tools each agent can see and call
• Connects to the Community Threat Network — attack patterns discovered by other Navil users protect you within seconds
• Logs everything — full audit trail of every tool call, policy decision, and anomaly

Overhead: <3 microseconds per message. You will not notice it.

When to Use This Skill#

• User says "secure my setup" or "protect my OpenClaw" or "check my security"
• User is concerned about MCP security, prompt injection, or data exfiltration
• User just heard about ClawHavoc or CVE-2026-25253
• User asks "is my setup safe?" or "audit my skills" or "scan for threats"
• User wants to monitor what their MCP servers are doing
• User wants to reduce token costs by scoping which tools agents can see
• Automatically when new MCP servers or skills are added to the config

First-Time Setup#

When the user activates this skill for the first time, follow these steps exactly:

Step 1: Install Navil#

bash

pip install navil --break-system-packages 2>/dev/null || pip install navil

Verify installation:

bash

navil --version

If pip is not available, try:

bash

pip3 install navil --break-system-packages 2>/dev/null || pip3 install navil

Step 2: Find the OpenClaw MCP Config#

Look for the OpenClaw configuration file. Check these locations in order:

1. ./openclaw.json (current workspace)
2. ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json (user config)

If found, extract the MCP server configuration section.

Step 3: Wrap All MCP Servers#

Run the one-command setup:

bash

navil wrap <path-to-config> --dry-run

Show the user what will change. If they confirm:

bash

navil wrap <path-to-config>

Tell the user: "Your original config has been backed up automatically. Every MCP server is now monitored by Navil's security proxy. To undo at any time: navil wrap <path-to-config> --undo"

Step 4: Run Initial Scan#

bash

navil scan <path-to-config>

Present the security score (0-100) and any findings to the user in plain language. Group by severity: CRITICAL first, then HIGH, MEDIUM, LOW.

Step 5: Confirm Threat Network Connection#

bash

navil cloud status 2>/dev/null || echo "Running in community mode — threat intelligence active with 48h delay"

Tell the user: "You're connected to the Navil Community Threat Network. Attack patterns discovered by other users will automatically protect your setup. No personal data leaves your machine — only anonymized threat metadata."

Ongoing Protection#

After initial setup, this skill provides continuous protection:

When the User Asks "Check My Security" or "Security Status"#

Run:

bash

navil scan <path-to-config>

Present the score and any new findings since last check.

When the User Installs a New Skill or MCP Server#

After any skill installation from ClawHub or manual MCP config change:

1. Re-run navil scan <path-to-config> on the updated config
2. If the new server is not yet wrapped, run navil wrap <path-to-config>
3. Report any findings about the new addition

When the User Asks for a Full Audit#

Run the penetration test suite:

bash

navil pentest

This runs 11 SAFE-MCP attack simulations (no real network traffic) and reports which threats the current setup catches. Present results as a pass/fail table.

When the User Asks About Token Costs or Tool Bloat#

Navil can scope which tools each agent sees, reducing schema tokens by up to 94%:

bash

navil policy check --tool <tool-name> --agent <agent-name> --action read

Explain that creating a policy file at ~/.navil/policy.yaml with tool scopes reduces both security risk and inference cost. Offer to generate a starter policy based on current usage.

When the User Wants to Undo#

bash

navil wrap <path-to-config> --undo

This restores the original config from the automatic backup.

Telemetry Transparency#

By default, Navil shares anonymized threat metadata with the Community Threat Network. Here is exactly what is sent:

• Sent: anomaly type (e.g. "RATE_SPIKE"), severity, confidence score, tool name, timing metadata
• NOT sent: raw tool arguments, tool responses, file contents, agent prompts, user data
• Agent IDs: one-way HMAC-SHA256 hashed — irreversible, cannot be linked to real identities
• Destination: https://navil-cloud-api.onrender.com/v1/telemetry (see source: navil/cloud/telemetry_sync.py)
• Opt-out: set NAVIL_DISABLE_CLOUD_SYNC=true to stop all telemetry
• Full audit: inspect navil/cloud/telemetry_sync.py in the repo to see exactly what is collected

What Navil Shield Does NOT Do#

• It does not replace VirusTotal scanning or ClawSec file integrity checks — those catch different threats at different layers. Use all three together for defense in depth.
• It does not require an account or API key for the free Community tier.
• It does not slow down your agent — 2.7 microsecond overhead per message.
• It does not phone home with your data — only anonymized threat metadata is shared, and you can fully opt out with NAVIL_DISABLE_CLOUD_SYNC=true.

Upgrade to Navil Pro#

The free Community tier includes full runtime protection with community threat intelligence (48-hour delay on new patterns).

For real-time threat intel, OIDC identity integration, custom policy rules, and fleet analytics:

bash

navil cloud login

Plans start at $59/month. Details at https://navil.ai

Troubleshooting#

• "navil: command not found" — Run pip install navil again, or check that your pip bin directory is in PATH.
• "No MCP servers found in config" — Verify the config path. OpenClaw configs are typically at ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json.
• "Redis not available" — The shim mode (what navil wrap uses) works without Redis. Redis is only needed for the full proxy mode.
• Undo everything — navil wrap <config> --undo restores your original config from the automatic backup.

Links#

• GitHub: https://github.com/navilai/navil
• Documentation: https://navil.ai/docs
• Community Threat Radar: https://navil.ai/radar
• Report an issue: https://github.com/navilai/navil/issues