The Tool Desk
Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Treat an AI-generated bug report as a hypothesis, not a confirmed defect. Before you submit it, check the target project’s reporting rules, identify the exact version you tested, and personally reproduce the behavior—or clearly say that you could not. Then separate what you observed from what you think caused it, and use the project’s private security channel if the finding may expose a vulnerability.
1. Check the project’s reporting rules first
Find the repository’s current contribution, bug-reporting, and security instructions. They determine where to report, whether to use a template, what version details to include, and how to handle sensitive findings. A GitHub issue is not automatically the right destination: Linux kernel reports may need to go to maintainers or mailing lists instead of a generic issue tracker.
Project guidance differs. The Linux kernel security-bug guidance, OpenSC contribution instructions, OpenProject’s bug-reporting guidance, and OpenJII’s issue-reporting guidance illustrate overlapping expectations, but none should be treated as a universal standard for every project.
Before drafting, note the accepted channel, any required report fields, the project’s preferred version identifier, and the security-reporting route. Follow the project’s instructions if they differ from the general workflow below.
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2. Search for an existing report
Search the project’s issue tracker and, where relevant, mailing-list archives or other discussion channels for the same observed behavior. Search distinctive error text, the affected component, and the key steps that trigger the problem. If a matching report exists, add genuinely useful evidence there when project policy permits rather than opening a duplicate.
3. Pin down exactly what you tested
Record the exact release, commit ID, or other version identifier requested by the project. “Latest” is not a stable identifier: versions can change, and a behavior seen on one revision may not exist on another. Check whether the issue persists on the currently relevant version before attributing it to the project.
Include the environment details that could affect the result, such as operating system, relevant software or hardware, configuration, and dependencies. Provide only details that matter to reproducing the behavior; do not include secrets or private data.
4. Run and simplify the reproducer
Personally run the AI-generated steps, script, or test against the identified version. Note the conditions that trigger the behavior, the dependencies involved, and the output or visible result that confirms it. Reduce the reproducer to the smallest practical sequence so another person can follow it and distinguish the reported behavior from unrelated setup.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches- Start from the documented prerequisites and the exact version you recorded.
- Follow the steps as written, checking that each dependency and configuration is present.
- Capture the actual output, error, or visible behavior that demonstrates the issue.
- Repeat when practical, especially if the behavior is intermittent, and record the conditions under which it does or does not occur.
- If you cannot reproduce it, say so plainly. Do not present the AI’s proposed explanation or test as something you personally observed.
OpenSC recommends checking reproduction steps as if another person were following them, and Linux kernel guidance recommends simplifying a reproducer. For Linux kernel AI-assisted security reports specifically, the project says the reproducer must be tested thoroughly. Its guidance warns: “If the reproducer does not work, or if the tool cannot produce one, the validity of the report should be seriously questioned.” That is Linux kernel project guidance, not a universal rule that every project requires a reproducer in the same form.
5. Separate observation from interpretation
Describe three things distinctly: what you did, what happened, and what you expected to happen. Keep the actual result factual—commands, output, errors, or visible behavior. Explain the basis for the expected behavior when available, such as a documented contract or project source.
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Label a suspected cause, security impact, or proposed fix as a hypothesis unless you have independently established it. Do not turn an AI-generated explanation into a fact or claim a broader impact than your evidence supports. Linux kernel security guidance explicitly cautions against speculative impact claims in AI-assisted reports.
6. Prepare a focused report
Use the project’s own template and omit or adapt fields it does not request. A concise report will often need the following information:
Best Value
- Title: a specific description of the observed failure and affected component.
- Project version or commit: the exact value you tested.
- Environment: relevant operating system, software or hardware, dependencies, and configuration.
- Observed behavior: what happened, with useful output or logs.
- Expected behavior: what you expected and the basis for that expectation.
- Reproduction: minimal steps or a script, prerequisites, and triggering conditions—or an honest statement that you could not reproduce it.
- Verification: what you personally ran and what happened; make remaining uncertainty clear.
- Related reports: links to relevant existing reports, or enough detail to describe where you searched.
- AI assistance: disclose or describe it when the project’s rules or context call for it. Never imply that the assistant’s analysis was independently verified when it was not.
Attach logs or screenshots only when they help establish the behavior. Review every attachment for credentials, tokens, personal information, and other sensitive data before sharing it. OpenJII specifically warns against posting credentials and sensitive data in public issues.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.7. Use a private route for suspected security issues
Before publicly filing a report that could describe a vulnerability, read the project’s security policy and follow its disclosure process. A public report or reproducer can give attackers actionable information. The Linux kernel’s security-bug guidance says not to publish an AI-assisted security reproducer publicly and describes private reporting. Follow the target project’s own policy rather than assuming its process matches the kernel’s.
Linux kernel AI-assisted reports have additional project-specific requirements
The Linux kernel’s official guidance is more prescriptive than a general bug-report checklist: it calls for checking against an up-to-date mainline tree, noting the commit ID, verifying that the bug is real, writing a fix, building it without warnings, checking it with checkpatch, committing it with a Fixes tag, and identifying maintainers with get_maintainer.pl. These are Linux kernel-specific directions, not requirements to impose on reports to other repositories. The project’s full instructions are in its security-bug documentation.
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