> What else have they pushed like this? Is there a transparent log?
Yes.
sh-3.2# softwareupdate --history
Display Name Version Date
------------ ------- ----
Safari Technology Preview 87 07/10/2019, 21:40:18
Gatekeeper Configuration Data 171 07/03/2019, 14:00:23
Safari Technology Preview 86 07/02/2019, 01:27:12
MRTConfigData 1.42 06/29/2019, 11:52:13
Gatekeeper Configuration Data 170 06/29/2019, 11:50:33
Safari Technology Preview 85 06/13/2019, 14:48:10
Safari Technology Preview 84 06/10/2019, 00:51:57
TCC Configuration Data 17.0 06/05/2019, 07:04:21
Gatekeeper Configuration Data 167 06/04/2019, 04:17:26
Safari Technology Preview 83 05/30/2019, 19:48:10
iTunes Device Support Update 05/15/2019, 16:27:15
Safari Technology Preview 82 05/15/2019, 16:27:15
macOS 10.14.5 Update 05/15/2019, 16:27:15
Gatekeeper Configuration Data 166 05/14/2019, 02:36:07
Safari Technology Preview 81 05/03/2019, 00:47:53
MRTConfigData 1.41 05/02/2019, 06:36:59
XProtectPlistConfigData 2103 05/02/2019, 06:36:37
And the list goes all the way back to when I bought my Mac. Among the list above, only the Safari Technology Preview updates and the macOS 10.14.5 update are initiated manually, as far as I can remember.