GHSA-84m7-p3x7-pcfv
MCP Python SDK: Unbounded Session Accumulation in StreamableHTTP Transport Enables Resource Exhaustion
Packages
Details
As written in the advisory (Markdown source, shown as plain text).
### Summary
In affected versions, a Streamable HTTP server in stateful mode (the default) never reclaimed session state:
- sessions did not expire;
- a client `DELETE` ended the session but left its entry registered;
- a session whose first request was refused stayed registered with a running task.
Each session also kept its parsed `initialize` parameters, and the number of sessions was unlimited. A client that could reach the endpoint could grow server memory without bound using ordinary short requests; only a restart reclaimed it.
### Am I affected?
Yes, if you serve MCP over Streamable HTTP in stateful mode and clients you do not fully trust can reach the endpoint. Stateful mode is the default for:
- `FastMCP` (1.x)
- `MCPServer` and `Server.streamable_http_app()` (2.x)
- `StreamableHTTPSessionManager`
Affected versions: 1.8.0 through 1.29.1, and 2.0.0 through 2.1.1.
Not affected:
- servers on 1.12.0 or later passing `stateless_http=True` (no sessions are kept)
- servers using only the stdio or SSE transports
Authentication limits who can open sessions, not how many a token holder can open.
### Fix
Upgrade to `mcp` 1.30.0 (1.x) or 2.2.0 (2.x) or later. In those versions:
- a session with no request in flight for `session_idle_timeout` seconds (default 1800) is closed and its ID then answers `404`; open streams and in-progress requests keep it alive;
- at most `max_sessions` sessions exist at once (default 10000); a request that would open another is answered `503`;
- a session is discarded as soon as it ends, whether by `DELETE`, expiry, or a refused opening request.
Both settings are keyword arguments on `FastMCP(...)` (1.x), `MCPServer.run()` / `streamable_http_app()` (2.x) and `StreamableHTTPSessionManager`; `None` disables them.
This bounds retention rather than eliminating it: a live session still holds its `initialize` parameters (up to roughly twice the 4 MiB body limit), and an `initialize` with invalid parameters still opens a session that expires like any other. On a small host, lower `session_idle_timeout`, `max_sessions` and `max_request_body_size` to fit.
If you cannot upgrade yet, pass `stateless_http=True` (1.12.0 or later) where you need no per-session state, or restrict who can reach the endpoint.
References
External links from the advisory. They lead to third-party sites.
- https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/python-sdk/security/advisories/GHSA-84m7-p3x7-pcfv
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-59951
- https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/python-sdk/pull/3395
- https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/python-sdk/pull/3426
- https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/python-sdk/commit/92120b4b0f50385af096592d7cee932fc1d994e7
- https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/python-sdk/commit/d2290ca3434731b68ea3e2270bc06a6e6575931b
- https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/python-sdk
- https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/python-sdk/releases/tag/v1.30.0
- https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/python-sdk/releases/tag/v2.2.0