Repository Analysis

zeek/zeek

Zeek is a powerful network analysis framework that is much different from the typical IDS you may know.

3.4 Likely human-written View on GitHub

Analysis Overview

This report presents the forensic synthetic code analysis of zeek/zeek, a C++ project with 7,771 GitHub stars. SynthScan v2.0 examined 161,591 lines of code across 873 source files, recording 412 pattern matches distributed across 12 syntactic categories. The overall adjusted score of 3.4 places this repository in the Likely human-written band.

The scanner applied 160+ deterministic lexical heuristics, multi-line block detectors, abstract syntax tree depth profilers, and a cross-file Jaccard similarity matrix to construct a statistically normalised synthetic code estimate. All matches are individually weighted by severity coefficient and contextual multiplier before summation, and the resulting headline score is temporally discounted to account for the repository's development history relative to the commercial emergence of large language model coding tooling (November 2022 onward).

3.4
Adjusted Score
3.4
Raw Score
100%
Time Factor
2026-07-14
Last Push
7.8K
Stars
C++
Language
161.6K
Lines of Code
873
Files
412
Pattern Hits
2026-07-14
Scan Date
0.02
HC Hit Rate

What These Metrics Mean

Adjusted Score
Primary synthetic code indicator. Raw score normalised per 1,000 lines of code and multiplied by the temporal discount factor. This is the definitive comparative metric — use it to rank repositories by AI authorship density.
Raw Score
The unmodified sum of all severity-weighted, context-multiplied pattern match scores before temporal discounting. Reflects the absolute signal strength independent of when the repository was last active.
Time Factor
The temporal discount multiplier (0–100%) applied to the raw score. Repositories last updated before ChatGPT's launch (Nov 2022) receive a 5% factor. Full signal is only assigned to repositories active in the post-adoption era (Jan 2024+).
Pattern Hits
Total count of individual pattern matches across all files and categories. A high hit count with a low score may indicate a very large codebase with isolated AI snippets; a low count with a high score indicates dense, concentrated AI signatures.
HC Hit Rate
High+Critical pattern hits per file, averaged across the repository. This orthogonal signal catches repositories where a few files are densely packed with high-severity AI tells — a strong indicator even when the normalised score appears moderate due to codebase size.
Lines of Code / Files
Total lines and files analysed. The scanner examines 94 file extensions. These denominators are used to normalise the score, enabling fair comparison between repositories of vastly different sizes.

Score History

This chart maps the temporal evolution of the adjusted synthetic code score across successive scan runs. An upward trajectory indicates ongoing incorporation of AI-generated code or expanding LLM-assisted scaffolding; a stable or declining trajectory may reflect active human refactoring, code removal, or the adoption of stricter authorship policies. The dashed secondary line (right axis) independently tracks total raw pattern hit count, which can diverge from the normalised score when codebase size changes significantly between scans.

Severity Breakdown

Classifies detected patterns by their diagnostic confidence and structural impact. CRITICAL patterns (coefficient 10) represent definitive synthetic signatures — hallucinated imports, explicit LLM attribution metadata — virtually never produced by human authors. HIGH (5) indicates strong structural tells such as cross-file repetition or cross-linguistic idioms. MEDIUM (2) covers recognisable conversational padding and AI-specific vocabulary. LOW (1) captures subtle indicators like tautological comments and generic boilerplate that require density to carry independent signal.

CRITICAL 0HIGH 21MEDIUM 35LOW 356

Directory Score Breakdown

This horizontal bar chart decomposes the repository's raw synthetic code score by top-level directory, allowing you to pinpoint precisely which modules or components carry the highest AI authorship density. Directories with disproportionately high scores relative to their size warrant targeted manual review: concentrated AI signatures often trace back to mass-generated configuration layers, auto-ported test suites, LLM-scaffolded boilerplate classes, or entire subsystems authored under heavy copilot assistance. Use this view to prioritise your human code-review effort.

Pattern Findings

The scanner identified 412 distinct pattern matches across 12 syntactic categories. Each entry below represents a discrete location in the source code where the engine recorded a statistically significant AI authorship indicator. Expand any category row to inspect the individual file paths, line numbers, code snippets, and the lexical context (CODE, COMMENT, or STRING) in which each match was detected.

Reading the findings table: The Severity column indicates the diagnostic confidence level (CRITICAL / HIGH / MEDIUM / LOW). The Context column identifies whether the match occurred inside executable code, an inline comment, or a string literal — comment-context matches receive a ×1.5 weight because LLMs systematically over-annotate. The ⚡ bolt icon marks clustered matches: three or more patterns within a 10-line window, each receiving an additional ×1.5 density multiplier as dense clusters constitute far stronger evidence of synthetic authorship than isolated hits.

Over-Commented Block340 hits · 318 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOWCMakeLists.txt1# When changing the minimum version here, also adaptCOMMENT
LOWCMakeLists.txt321COMMENT
LOWtools/gen-zam/Gen-ZAM.h1// See the file "COPYING" in the main distribution directory for copyright.COMMENT
LOWtools/gen-zam/Gen-ZAM.h101COMMENT
LOWtools/gen-zam/Gen-ZAM.h161 // OP_LOAD_GLOBAL_VV_A).COMMENT
LOWtools/gen-zam/Gen-ZAM.h181COMMENT
LOWtools/gen-zam/Gen-ZAM.h261COMMENT
LOWtools/gen-zam/Gen-ZAM.h401 // Helper function that parses "class" specifications.COMMENT
LOWtools/gen-zam/Gen-ZAM.h421COMMENT
LOWtools/gen-zam/Gen-ZAM.h601COMMENT
LOWtools/binpac/src/pac_context.h1// See the file "COPYING" in the main distribution directory for copyright.COMMENT
LOWtools/binpac/src/pac_expr.h41 ExprType expr_type() const { return expr_type_; }COMMENT
LOWtools/binpac/src/pac_id.h1// See the file "COPYING" in the main distribution directory for copyright.COMMENT
LOWtools/binpac/src/pac_decl-inl.h1// See the file "COPYING" in the main distribution directory for copyright.COMMENT
LOWtools/systemd-generator/src/zeek-cluster-config.h1// See the file "COPYING" in the main distribution directory for copyright.COMMENT
LOWtools/zeek-cut/zeek-cut.c1// See the file "COPYING" in the main distribution directory for copyright.COMMENT
LOWci/find-current-version.sh1#!/bin/bashCOMMENT
LOWci/tsan_suppressions.txt1# This is a list of suppressions for ThreadSanitizer. Anything listed here will beCOMMENT
LOWci/tsan_suppressions.txt41race:zeek::threading::InputMessage<zeek::threading::MsgThread>::ObjectCOMMENT
LOWci/tsan_suppressions.txt61called_from_lib:libzmq.soCOMMENT
LOWci/tsan_suppressions.txt81# The T3 thread above is/was a ZMQ IO thread.COMMENT
LOWci/container-images-tag-and-push.sh1#!/bin/bashCOMMENT
LOWtesting/btest/misc/udp.sh1# @TEST-DOC: Check that the Zeek::PacketSourceUDP plugin is available on FreeBSD and LinuxCOMMENT
LOWtesting/btest/misc/build-info.sh1# @TEST-DOC: Verify -V and --build-info workCOMMENT
LOW…sting/btest/Traces/smtp/mime-header-size-limit.pcap.py221# padding → 2 bytesCOMMENT
LOW…sting/btest/Traces/smtp/mime-header-size-limit.pcap.py261 # RFC 2822 message — what Zeek parses via MIME_EntityCOMMENT
LOWtesting/btest/Traces/krb/error-preauth-padata.pcap.py1from scapy.all import IP, UDP, Ether, Raw, wrpcapCOMMENT
LOW…temd-generator/test-zeek-systemd-generator-defaults.sh1# @TEST-DOC: Use a minimal to check the defaults used.COMMENT
LOW…rator/test-zeek-cluster-layout-generator-open-error.sh1# @TEST-DOC: Check that an errno string is included in the error message if -o is used and the file can't be opened. TriCOMMENT
LOW…tools/systemd-generator/test-interface-substitution.sh1# @TEST-DOC: Test interpolation of the interface key.COMMENT
LOW…tools/systemd-generator/test-zeek-systemd-generator.sh1# @TEST-DOC: Smoke test the zeek-systemd-generatorCOMMENT
LOWtesting/btest/tools/systemd-generator/test-ext-path.sh1# @TEST-DOC: Test ext_path settingCOMMENT
LOWtesting/btest/tools/systemd-generator/test-cpulist.sh1# @TEST-DOC: Test a few CPU lists.COMMENT
LOWtesting/btest/tools/systemd-generator/test-cpulist.sh21# @TEST-EXEC: mkdir dir3COMMENT
LOW…ystemd-generator/test-zeek-cluster-layout-generator.sh1# @TEST-DOC: Smoke test the zeek-cluster-layout-generator tool.COMMENT
LOW…ng/btest/tools/systemd-generator/test-ext-zeek-path.sh1# @TEST-DOC: Test ext_path settingCOMMENT
LOWtesting/btest/core/sigterm-regular.sh1# This test verifies that Zeek terminates upon SIGTERM during regular scriptCOMMENT
LOWtesting/btest/core/sigterm-stdin.sh1# This test verifies that Zeek, while reading stdin to parse scripts, terminatesCOMMENT
LOWtesting/btest/plugins/bifs-and-scripts.sh1# @TEST-EXEC: ${DIST}/auxil/zeek-aux/plugin-support/init-plugin -u . Demo FooCOMMENT
LOW…test/plugins/bifs-and-scripts-install-delete-source.sh1# @TEST-DOC: Create a plugin, build it, copy its tgz file, delete the source tree, install via the tgz. This ensures theCOMMENT
LOWtesting/btest/Files/ws/wstest.py281 # assert self.protocol.state is CLOSEDCOMMENT
LOWtesting/external/scripts/skel/traces.cfg1#COMMENT
LOWdoc/redirects.yml1# This file defines all the HTTP redirects required for the Readthedocs projectsCOMMENT
LOWdoc/conf.py1#COMMENT
LOWdoc/conf.py41# The suffix of source filenames.COMMENT
LOWdoc/conf.py101# to update the commit-hash for every Zeek commit unless it actually producesCOMMENT
LOWdoc/conf.py121today_fmt = "%B %d, %Y"COMMENT
LOWdoc/conf.py221# Additional templates that should be rendered to pages, maps page names toCOMMENT
LOWdoc/conf.py241# html_show_copyright = TrueCOMMENT
LOWdoc/conf.py261COMMENT
LOWdoc/conf.py321 r"^https://zeek\.rtfd\.io",COMMENT
LOWdoc/advanced/devel/cluster/supervisor.sh1#!/bin/bashCOMMENT
LOWdoc/tutorial/scripting/js/api.js1// api.jsCOMMENT
LOWdoc/frameworks/management/full-config.ini1# The instances section describes where you run Management agentsCOMMENT
LOWdoc/frameworks/management/full-config.ini21instance = agent-testboxCOMMENT
LOWdoc/frameworks/management/full-config.ini41#COMMENT
LOWsrc/Type.h1// See the file "COPYING" in the main distribution directory for copyright.COMMENT
LOWsrc/Type.h881 bool has_redefs = false;COMMENT
LOWsrc/ZeekString.h1// See the file "COPYING" in the main distribution directory for copyright.COMMENT
LOWsrc/ZeekString.h121 static constexpr int ZEEK_STRING_LITERAL = // as in a Zeek string literalCOMMENT
280 more matches not shown…
Cross-Language Confusion12 hits · 89 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
HIGH…st/Traces/snmp/snmp-oid-subidentifier-too-long.pcap.py27 varbind = tlv(0x30, oid + null)CODE
HIGH…g/btest/Traces/dce-rpc/bind-ack-no-inband-null.pcap.py160 # Flow 1: sec_addr = b'ABC' (no null) -> old strips to "AB", new keeps "ABC"COMMENT
HIGH…g/btest/Traces/dce-rpc/bind-ack-no-inband-null.pcap.py163 # Flow 2: sec_addr = b'ABC\x00' (null) -> both old and new produce "ABC"COMMENT
HIGH…g/btest/Traces/dce-rpc/bind-ack-no-inband-null.pcap.py166 # Flow 3: sec_addr = b'X' (no null) -> old strips to "", new keeps "X"COMMENT
HIGHtesting/btest/Traces/tls/dtls-sequence-number-jumps.py51 compression_field = b"\x01\x00" # length 1, method 0 (null)CODE
HIGHsrc/generate-jit-export-def.py27 """Return (defined, undefined, data_syms) sets of external symbols.STRING
HIGHsrc/generate-jit-export-def.py73 return defined, undefined, data_symsCODE
HIGHsrc/generate-jit-export-def.py264 defined, undefined, data_syms = _parse_symbols(dumpbin, lib)CODE
HIGHsrc/generate-jit-export-def.py266 f" {lib}: {len(defined)} defined, {len(undefined)} undefined",CODE
HIGHsrc/generate-jit-export-def.py270 all_undefs.update(undefined)CODE
HIGHsrc/generate-jit-export-def.py280 defined, undefined, data_syms = _parse_symbols(dumpbin, lib)CODE
HIGHsrc/generate-jit-export-def.py287 all_undefs.update(undefined)CODE
Decorative Section Separators22 hits · 55 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
MEDIUMci/tsan_suppressions.txt10# =====================================================================COMMENT
MEDIUM…sting/btest/Traces/smtp/mime-header-size-limit.pcap.py31# ── tunables ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────COMMENT
MEDIUM…sting/btest/Traces/smtp/mime-header-size-limit.pcap.py44# ── read the RFC2822 payload ─────────────────────────────────────────────────COMMENT
MEDIUM…sting/btest/Traces/smtp/mime-header-size-limit.pcap.py57# ── build the SMTP conversation ──────────────────────────────────────────────COMMENT
MEDIUM…sting/btest/Traces/smtp/mime-header-size-limit.pcap.py79# ── packet construction ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────COMMENT
MEDIUM…sting/btest/Traces/smtp/mime-header-size-limit.pcap.py166# ── write PCAP ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────COMMENT
MEDIUM…sting/btest/Traces/smtp/mime-header-size-limit.pcap.py205# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────COMMENT
MEDIUM…sting/btest/Traces/smtp/mime-header-size-limit.pcap.py207# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────COMMENT
MEDIUM…sting/btest/Traces/smtp/mime-header-size-limit.pcap.py243# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────COMMENT
MEDIUM…sting/btest/Traces/smtp/mime-header-size-limit.pcap.py245# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────COMMENT
MEDIUM…sting/btest/Traces/smtp/mime-header-size-limit.pcap.py293# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────COMMENT
MEDIUM…sting/btest/Traces/smtp/mime-header-size-limit.pcap.py295# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────COMMENT
MEDIUM…sting/btest/Traces/smtp/mime-header-size-limit.pcap.py337# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────COMMENT
MEDIUM…sting/btest/Traces/smtp/mime-header-size-limit.pcap.py339# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────COMMENT
MEDIUM…sting/btest/Traces/smtp/mime-header-size-limit.pcap.py359# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────COMMENT
MEDIUM…sting/btest/Traces/smtp/mime-header-size-limit.pcap.py361# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────COMMENT
MEDIUM…sting/btest/Traces/smtp/mime-header-size-limit.pcap.py374 # ── Code path explanation ─────────────────────────────────────────────COMMENT
MEDIUM…sting/btest/Traces/smtp/mime-header-size-limit.pcap.py420 # ── Impact calculation ────────────────────────────────────────────────STRING
MEDIUM…sting/btest/Traces/smtp/mime-header-size-limit.pcap.py470 # ── Generate the payload ─────────────────────────────────────────────STRING
MEDIUM…sting/btest/Traces/smtp/mime-header-size-limit.pcap.py507 # ── Save to file ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────STRING
MEDIUM…sting/btest/Traces/smtp/mime-header-size-limit.pcap.py522 # ── Summary ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────STRING
MEDIUM…sting/btest/Traces/smtp/mime-header-size-limit.pcap.py549 # ── Final assertion ───────────────────────────────────────────────────STRING
Self-Referential Comments9 hits · 32 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
MEDIUMtesting/btest/Traces/icmp/icmp6-mldv2.py120 # Create the packetCOMMENT
MEDIUMtesting/btest/Traces/icmp/icmp6-mldv2.py171 # Create the packet (using unique source address)COMMENT
MEDIUMtesting/btest/Traces/icmp/icmp6-mldv2.py174 # Create a second packet with zero multicast address recordsCOMMENT
MEDIUMtesting/btest/Traces/icmp/icmp6-mldv2.py179 # Create a third packet with malformed record: claims 3 sources but only has 2COMMENT
MEDIUMtesting/btest/Traces/icmp/icmp6-mldv2.py191 # Create a fourth packet with one source and auxiliary dataCOMMENT
MEDIUMtesting/btest/Traces/icmp/icmp6-mldv2.py203 # Create a fifth packet with malformed aux data: claims aux data length > 0 but no actual dataCOMMENT
MEDIUMdoc/redirects.yml1# This file defines all the HTTP redirects required for the Readthedocs projectsCOMMENT
MEDIUMdoc/conf.py4# This file is execfile()d with the current directory set to its containing dir.COMMENT
MEDIUMdoc/ext/zeek.py100 # Create a referenceCOMMENT
Synthetic Comment Markers9 hits · 30 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
HIGHAI_POLICY.md13- **AI generated Pcap files require submission of source code.** Packet captures created by AI-generated scripts/code (eCODE
HIGH…sting/btest/Traces/portmapper-many-unanswered-calls.py3Generated by ChatGPT 5.5 to reproduce unbounded calls table.STRING
HIGH…g/btest/Traces/dce-rpc/bind-ack-no-inband-null.pcap.py3This was entirely generated by Claude code.STRING
HIGHtesting/btest/Traces/http/query-method.pcap.py9Generated by Claude Opus 4.6 (Anthropic).STRING
HIGH…sting/btest/Traces/http/invalid-content-ranges.pcap.py8Generated by Claude Sonnet 4.6 (Anthropic).STRING
HIGH…sting/btest/Traces/smtp/mime-header-size-limit.pcap.py3# This script is entirely AI generated. It uses a user's AI generated script in order to create aCOMMENT
HIGHtesting/btest/Traces/sip/invalid-content-length.pcap.py7Generated by Claude Opus 4.6 (Anthropic).STRING
HIGHtesting/btest/Traces/dns/svcb-alpn-malformed.pcap.py6Generated by Claude Opus 4.6 (Anthropic).STRING
HIGHtesting/btest/Traces/dns/svcb-port-malformed.pcap.py6Generated by Claude Opus 4.6 (Anthropic).STRING
AI Slop Vocabulary4 hits · 12 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
MEDIUMsrc/Dict.h293 // The non-robust case is easy. Just advance the current position forward until youCOMMENT
MEDIUMsrc/Dict.h1556 // Pending number of iterators on the Dict, including both robust and non-robust.COMMENT
MEDIUMsrc/script_opt/Expr.h171 // to leverage.COMMENT
MEDIUMsrc/script_opt/ZAM/ZInst.h69 // The following is to support robust operation in the face of potentialCOMMENT
Redundant / Tautological Comments3 hits · 4 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOWsrc/generate-jit-export-def.py53 # Check if this is a function ("notype ()") or data ("notype" only).COMMENT
LOWsrc/generate-jit-export-def.py94 # Check if any path component matches a target dir pattern.COMMENT
LOWsrc/generate-jit-export-def.py142 # Check if the symbol belongs to a whitelisted namespace.COMMENT
Deep Nesting4 hits · 4 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOWci/collect-repo-info.py162CODE
LOWdoc/ext/zeek.py507CODE
LOWdoc/ext/zeek.py554CODE
LOWsrc/generate-jit-export-def.py86CODE
Hyper-Verbose Identifiers4 hits · 4 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOWtesting/btest/Files/ws/wstest.py240def monkey_patch_close_socket():CODE
LOWtesting/scripts/httpd.py6class MyRequestHandler(BaseHTTPServer.BaseHTTPRequestHandler):CODE
LOWdoc/ext/zeek.py55def object_description_transform(app, domain, objtype, contentnode):CODE
LOWsrc/generate-jit-export-def.py76def extract_defined_externals(dumpbin, lib_path):CODE
Modern Structural Boilerplate2 hits · 2 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOWci/collect-repo-info.py22logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)CODE
LOWdoc/ext/zeek.py27logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)CODE
Slop Phrases1 hit · 2 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOWci/benchmark.sh53# If we got a bad status back from the host, we want to make sure to mask the hostCOMMENT
Excessive Try-Catch Wrapping2 hits · 0 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOW…sting/btest/Traces/smtp/mime-header-size-limit.pcap.py487 except Exception:STRING
LOW…sting/btest/Traces/smtp/mime-header-size-limit.pcap.py500 except Exception:STRING