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fix(skills): add depth limits to recursive PowerPoint processing functions#1028

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fix/powerpoint-recursive-depth-limits
Mar 15, 2026
Merged

fix(skills): add depth limits to recursive PowerPoint processing functions#1028
WilliamBerryiii merged 3 commits intomainfrom
fix/powerpoint-recursive-depth-limits

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Description

Added depth guards to all recursive call chains in the PowerPoint skill to address CWE-674 (Uncontrolled Recursion). Three production modules — extract_content.py, build_deck.py, and pptx_colors.py — gained configurable _depth and max_depth keyword-only parameters that raise ValueError when nesting exceeds safe limits. A previously missing "group" dispatch in build_element_in_group was fixed alongside the security hardening.

Security Hardening — Recursive Depth Guards

Each recursive path now tracks depth with a consistent guard pattern:

  • Group nesting in extract_content.pyextract_group, _extract_shape_by_type, and extract_child_shape respect MAX_GROUP_DEPTH = 20.
  • Theme reference resolution in extract_content.py_resolve_theme_refs_in_content inner resolve_value respects MAX_THEME_REF_DEPTH = 50.
  • Group nesting in build_deck.pyadd_group_element and build_element_in_group respect MAX_GROUP_DEPTH = 20.
  • Color resolution in pptx_colors.pyresolve_color respects MAX_COLOR_DEPTH = 10.

Bug Fix — Missing Group Dispatch

  • build_element_in_group previously had no handler for elem_type == "group", causing nested group shapes to be silently dropped. Added an elif branch that delegates to add_group_element with depth propagation.

Test Coverage

Nine new tests validated the depth-limit behavior and confirmed normal nesting still works:

  • test_build_deck.py — 3 tests covering depth-limit raises, nested groups within limits, and group dispatch in build_element_in_group.
  • test_extract_content.py — 4 tests covering depth-limit raises and normal nesting for extract_group and _resolve_theme_refs_in_content.
  • test_pptx_colors.py — 2 tests covering depth-limit raises on nested dicts and single-dict unwrap within limits.

Related Issue(s)

Closes #1015

Type of Change

Select all that apply:

Code & Documentation:

  • Bug fix (non-breaking change fixing an issue)
  • New feature (non-breaking change adding functionality)
  • Breaking change (fix or feature causing existing functionality to change)
  • Documentation update

Infrastructure & Configuration:

  • GitHub Actions workflow
  • Linting configuration (markdown, PowerShell, etc.)
  • Security configuration
  • DevContainer configuration
  • Dependency update

AI Artifacts:

  • Reviewed contribution with prompt-builder agent and addressed all feedback
  • Copilot instructions (.github/instructions/*.instructions.md)
  • Copilot prompt (.github/prompts/*.prompt.md)
  • Copilot agent (.github/agents/*.agent.md)
  • Copilot skill (.github/skills/*/SKILL.md)

Note for AI Artifact Contributors:

  • Agents: Research, indexing/referencing other project (using standard VS Code GitHub Copilot/MCP tools), planning, and general implementation agents likely already exist. Review .github/agents/ before creating new ones.
  • Skills: Must include both bash and PowerShell scripts. See Skills.
  • Model Versions: Only contributions targeting the latest Anthropic and OpenAI models will be accepted. Older model versions (e.g., GPT-3.5, Claude 3) will be rejected.
  • See Agents Not Accepted and Model Version Requirements.

Other:

  • Script/automation (.ps1, .sh, .py)
  • Other (please describe):

Sample Prompts (for AI Artifact Contributions)

Testing

All 540 existing tests continued to pass. Nine new unit tests verified depth-limit enforcement and confirmed that normal nesting within defined limits works correctly across all three modules. Tests ran via pytest with zero failures.

Checklist

Required Checks

  • Documentation is updated (if applicable)
  • Files follow existing naming conventions
  • Changes are backwards compatible (if applicable)
  • Tests added for new functionality (if applicable)

AI Artifact Contributions

  • Used /prompt-analyze to review contribution
  • Addressed all feedback from prompt-builder review
  • Verified contribution follows common standards and type-specific requirements

Required Automated Checks

The following validation commands must pass before merging:

  • Markdown linting: npm run lint:md
  • Spell checking: npm run spell-check
  • Frontmatter validation: npm run lint:frontmatter
  • Skill structure validation: npm run validate:skills
  • Link validation: npm run lint:md-links
  • PowerShell analysis: npm run lint:ps
  • Plugin freshness: npm run plugin:generate

Security Considerations

  • This PR does not contain any sensitive or NDA information
  • Any new dependencies have been reviewed for security issues
  • Security-related scripts follow the principle of least privilege

Additional Notes

  • MAX_GROUP_DEPTH = 20 is defined independently in both build_deck.py and extract_content.py to avoid cross-module coupling. This is intentional for a skill-scoped codebase.
  • _build_group_element explicitly passes _depth=0 rather than relying on the default, making the entry-point intent clear.

- add MAX_GROUP_DEPTH, MAX_THEME_REF_DEPTH, MAX_COLOR_DEPTH constants
- guard extract_group, _resolve_theme_refs_in_content, add_group_element, resolve_color with depth tracking
- add group dispatch in build_element_in_group for nested groups
- add depth-limit tests across all three test modules

Closes #1015

🔒 - Generated by Copilot
@WilliamBerryiii WilliamBerryiii requested a review from a team as a code owner March 13, 2026 21:55
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github-actions bot commented Mar 13, 2026

Dependency Review

✅ No vulnerabilities or license issues or OpenSSF Scorecard issues found.

Scanned Files

None

@WilliamBerryiii WilliamBerryiii merged commit bf08994 into main Mar 15, 2026
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@WilliamBerryiii WilliamBerryiii deleted the fix/powerpoint-recursive-depth-limits branch March 15, 2026 00:33
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Codecov Report

✅ All modified and coverable lines are covered by tests.
✅ Project coverage is 85.92%. Comparing base (c50c7a3) to head (03c9501).
⚠️ Report is 4 commits behind head on main.

Additional details and impacted files

Impacted file tree graph

@@            Coverage Diff             @@
##             main    #1028      +/-   ##
==========================================
- Coverage   86.02%   85.92%   -0.11%     
==========================================
  Files          30       30              
  Lines        5410     5428      +18     
==========================================
+ Hits         4654     4664      +10     
- Misses        756      764       +8     
Flag Coverage Δ
pester 85.92% <ø> (-0.11%) ⬇️

Flags with carried forward coverage won't be shown. Click here to find out more.
see 1 file with indirect coverage changes

🚀 New features to boost your workflow:
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WilliamBerryiii added a commit that referenced this pull request Mar 20, 2026
🤖 I have created a release *beep* *boop*
---


##
[3.2.0](hve-core-v3.1.46...hve-core-v3.2.0)
(2026-03-20)


### ✨ Features

* add -OutputPath parameter to Validate-MarkdownFrontmatter.ps1
([#1134](#1134))
([fdf1bcf](fdf1bcf)),
closes [#1006](#1006)
* add action version consistency scan workflow
([#1127](#1127))
([4229df1](4229df1))
* **agent:** MVE Experiment Designer
([#976](#976))
([70f86ca](70f86ca))
* **agents:** add ADO Backlog Manager orchestrator agent
([#800](#800))
([fae3987](fae3987))
* **agents:** add meeting analyst agent for transcript analysis using
work-iq ([#502](#502))
([5345b5b](5345b5b))
* **agents:** add quick-reference line to RPI Phase 5 suggestions
([#897](#897))
([9a90f39](9a90f39))
* **agents:** add RAI Planner, enhance SSSC Planner, and redesign
Security Planner
([#979](#979))
([06f826c](06f826c))
* **agents:** add symmetric cross-system handoff to GitHub Backlog
Manager ([#952](#952))
([ba34a35](ba34a35))
* **agents:** Functional Code Review Agent — pre-PR functional
correctness reviewer
([#733](#733))
([9cf63b7](9cf63b7))
* **build:** add Python extensions and uv 0.10.8 to devcontainer
([#920](#920))
([9ca0579](9ca0579))
* **build:** add uv ecosystem to Dependabot configuration
([#913](#913))
([2a4bd39](2a4bd39))
* **build:** enable npm pinning enforcement in dependency scan
([#838](#838))
([4e9e31f](4e9e31f))
* **build:** migrate attestation actions to v4.1.0 and add SBOM
verification docs
([#841](#841))
([ca1e65b](ca1e65b))
* **collections:** add four new validator checks (orphan, duplicate,
companion, coverage)
([#869](#869))
([1a96b73](1a96b73))
* **devcontainer,security:** add enterprise artifact hub configuration
([#1032](#1032))
([1d56d25](1d56d25))
* **docs:** add Rust coding standards and guidelines
([#809](#809))
([d4c4899](d4c4899))
* **extension:** add Microsoft logo icon to VS Code Marketplace listings
([#906](#906))
([82aca41](82aca41))
* **github:** add declarative label management
([#953](#953))
([a1a6845](a1a6845))
* **instructions:** add ADO backlog shared infrastructure
([#786](#786))
([1914078](1914078))
* **instructions:** add ADO backlog sprint planning and capacity
tracking ([#788](#788))
([d6fb77d](d6fb77d))
* **instructions:** add ADO triage workflow and prompt
([#787](#787))
([cde0190](cde0190))
* **instructions:** add shared story quality conventions and sprint
planning ([#803](#803))
([a2f18e3](a2f18e3))
* **prompts:** add ADO discovery and work item prompts with agent
routing ([#790](#790))
([7e74523](7e74523))
* **prompts:** add security review prompts
([#1118](#1118))
([ad30967](ad30967))
* **scripts:** add dynamic Python skill discovery for lint/test
([#957](#957))
([0a90f57](0a90f57))
* **scripts:** add Get-StandardTimestamp utility to CIHelpers module
([#1126](#1126))
([b273a4b](b273a4b))
* **scripts:** add Python copyright header validation
([#905](#905))
([67df902](67df902))
* **scripts:** add Python skill support to Validate-SkillStructure
([#903](#903))
([68479d9](68479d9))
* **scripts:** add workflow npm command scanning to dependency pinning
([#837](#837))
([6b5ae06](6b5ae06))
* **security:** add basic security reviewer agent with owasp skills
([#1008](#1008))
([cb1fd05](cb1fd05))
* **security:** add sigstore attestation bundles and fix
component-detection action
([#1148](#1148))
([f79c272](f79c272))
* **skills:** add Atheris fuzz harness with CI workflow integration
([#1102](#1102))
([d337e1d](d337e1d))
* **skills:** add PowerPoint automation skill with YAML-driven deck
generation ([#868](#868))
([00465cd](00465cd))
* **skills:** convert hve-core-installer agent to self-contained skill
([#846](#846))
([1d821fb](1d821fb))
* **skills:** enhance pr-reference skill with flexible filtering and
base branch detection
([#1095](#1095))
([26a32ea](26a32ea))
* **workflows:** add devcontainer infrastructure change log workflow
([#899](#899))
([8aca446](8aca446))
* **workflows:** add milestone auto-close on stable and pre-release
publishes ([#834](#834))
([79362b1](79362b1))
* **workflows:** add ms.date documentation freshness checking
([#969](#969))
([3ed441c](3ed441c))
* **workflows:** add Python linting CI workflow with Ruff
([#951](#951))
([f89f0eb](f89f0eb))
* **workflows:** add Python testing CI workflow with pytest and Codecov
([#934](#934))
([5e8306f](5e8306f))
* **workflows:** add uv and Python package sync to copilot-setup-steps
([#921](#921))
([45d517d](45d517d))


### 🐛 Bug Fixes

* **build:** override Linguist vendored flag for Python skill files
([#1155](#1155))
([0eee5b6](0eee5b6))
* **build:** override serialize-javascript to &gt;=7.0.3 for RCE fix
([#876](#876))
([e49039a](e49039a))
* **build:** resolve Pinned-Dependencies alerts for vsce npm commands in
extension workflows
([#782](#782))
([89dad9d](89dad9d))
* **build:** update undici and yauzl overrides for security audit
([#1030](#1030))
([2c2f92f](2c2f92f))
* **docs:** add CLI Plugins to install.md navigation surfaces
([#902](#902))
([79d6595](79d6595))
* **docs:** add sidebar ordering for Design Thinking documentation
([#832](#832))
([551fddc](551fddc)),
closes [#830](#830)
* **docs:** graduate design-thinking to preview and correct stale
collection references
([#831](#831))
([5110e35](5110e35))
* **docs:** include project-planning in UX Designer install guidance
([#908](#908))
([e7aa9bc](e7aa9bc))
* **docs:** remediate writing-style convention violations
([#865](#865))
([68b04bc](68b04bc))
* **docs:** remove draft content announcement banner
([#825](#825))
([b45de80](b45de80))
* **docs:** remove unbounded path-to-regexp override breaking SSG
([#1153](#1153))
([d810018](d810018))
* **docs:** use actual clone paths instead of folder display names in
multi-root workspace settings
([#984](#984))
([5dbab82](5dbab82))
* **instructions:** replace black with ruff in uv-projects
([#898](#898))
([b0c06d9](b0c06d9))
* **scripts:** cover .github/ skill files in copyright header validation
([#1055](#1055))
([#1098](#1098))
([27fbd33](27fbd33))
* **scripts:** eliminate phantom git changes from plugin generation
([#1035](#1035))
([e49a1b5](e49a1b5))
* **scripts:** enable JSON log output for lint:version-consistency
([#1033](#1033))
([52b0885](52b0885))
* **security:** calculate compliance score from total scanned
dependencies ([#930](#930))
([c112c3d](c112c3d))
* **skills:** add AST validation and namespace restriction for
content-extra.py
([#1027](#1027))
([c50c7a3](c50c7a3))
* **skills:** add depth limits to recursive PowerPoint processing
functions ([#1028](#1028))
([bf08994](bf08994))
* **skills:** harden XML parsing and blob writes in powerpoint extract
([#1053](#1053))
([89d24b1](89d24b1))
* **skills:** resolve ruff lint and format violations in powerpoint
skill ([#1048](#1048))
([17bbe7a](17bbe7a))
* **workflows:** add uv.lock dependencies submission have fork-skip
condition ([#1109](#1109))
([dec56ac](dec56ac))
* **workflows:** automate weekly SHA staleness check with issue creation
([#975](#975))
([1ea4caa](1ea4caa))
* **workflows:** close Codecov integration gaps for Pester and pytest
flags ([#1106](#1106))
([cca29b7](cca29b7))
* **workflows:** propagate uv sync errors in copilot-setup-steps
([#961](#961))
([df88d7c](df88d7c))
* **workflows:** resolve release-please skip cascade and Python project
discovery ([#1043](#1043))
([79993e2](79993e2))
* **workflows:** scan only commit subjects for breaking change detection
([#1157](#1157))
([a38a657](a38a657))


### 📚 Documentation

* clarify HVE Core Extension vs Installer messaging across documentation
([#965](#965))
([0fceb8f](0fceb8f))
* **docs:** add ADO integration user documentation
([#935](#935))
([ec89302](ec89302))
* **docs:** add Project Planning agent documentation
([#936](#936))
([3a3a0fd](3a3a0fd))
* **onboarding:** overhaul marketplace onboarding and documentation site
([#982](#982))
([4309e10](4309e10))


### ♻️ Refactoring

* **build:** merge code-review collection into coding-standards
([#863](#863))
([8027e7b](8027e7b))
* **workflows:** rename release pipeline workflows and add marketplace
automation triggers
([#829](#829))
([b6397f4](b6397f4))


### 🔧 Maintenance

* **build:** add clean:logs npm script
([#1122](#1122))
([f85fe02](f85fe02)),
closes [#988](#988)
* **build:** add JSON reporter for cspell
([#1123](#1123))
([6d59f67](6d59f67))
* **ci:** add multi-arch support to copilot-setup-steps binary downloads
([#955](#955))
([8d0c706](8d0c706))
* **deps-dev:** bump cspell from 9.6.4 to 9.7.0 in the npm-dependencies
group ([#839](#839))
([3fa16ff](3fa16ff))
* **deps:** bump actions/dependency-review-action from 4.8.3 to 4.9.0 in
the github-actions group across 1 directory
([#942](#942))
([1a9b858](1a9b858))
* **deps:** bump cairosvg from 2.8.2 to 2.9.0 in
/.github/skills/experimental/powerpoint
([#1025](#1025))
([f4deda7](f4deda7))
* **deps:** bump dompurify from 3.3.1 to 3.3.2 in /docs/docusaurus
([#924](#924))
([d2060d6](d2060d6))
* **deps:** bump svgo from 3.3.2 to 3.3.3 in /docs/docusaurus
([#880](#880))
([6dc2406](6dc2406))
* **deps:** bump the github-actions group across 1 directory with 4
updates ([#1100](#1100))
([2290dc0](2290dc0))
* **deps:** bump the github-actions group with 6 updates
([#840](#840))
([f57bc01](f57bc01))
* **docs:** correct New-MsDateReport table rendering and refresh stale
docs ([#1114](#1114))
([c2b806f](c2b806f))
* **settings:** remove orphaned Checkov config and stale gitignore
entries ([#870](#870))
([98fcd74](98fcd74))

---
This PR was generated with [Release
Please](https://github.com/googleapis/release-please). See
[documentation](https://github.com/googleapis/release-please#release-please).

---------

Co-authored-by: hve-core-release-please[bot] <254602402+hve-core-release-please[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: Bill Berry <wberry@microsoft.com>
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security(powerpoint): recursive processing without depth limits

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