GHSA-rqfv-2mw9-78g2
MySQL MCP Server: Missing Origin/Host Validation in SSE Transport Enables Unauthenticated SQL Execution (DNS Rebinding / Direct Exposure)
Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| PyPI | mysql-mcp-server | < 0.4.2 | 0.4.2 |
Details
As written in the advisory (Markdown source, shown as plain text).
## Summary
In SSE/HTTP transport mode, `mysql_mcp_server` constructs `SseServerTransport` without passing `security_settings`. As a result, the MCP Python SDK's DNS-rebinding protection (Origin/Host header validation) is disabled; the Starlette application has no CORS or TrustedHost middleware; and the service binds to `0.0.0.0` by default with no authentication on any route.
**Trigger condition:** `MCP_TRANSPORT=sse`. The default stdio mode is not affected.
## Attack Scenarios
**Scenario A — Direct exposure:** Any network attacker can invoke `execute_sql` to run arbitrary SQL without credentials → full data dump, and via MySQL `FILE` privileges, arbitrary file read/write and RCE.
**Scenario B — DNS rebinding (local bind):** An attacker lures a victim's browser to a malicious page, rebinds their domain to `127.0.0.1`, and uses the browser as a proxy to invoke `execute_sql` as same-origin.
## Root Cause
In `src/mysql_mcp_server/server.py`:
1. `SseServerTransport` is constructed without `security_settings` — the SDK defaults `enable_dns_rebinding_protection` to `False`.
2. The Starlette app has no CORS or TrustedHost middleware.
3. All three routes (`/`, `/sse`, `/messages/`) are unauthenticated.
4. The service binds to `0.0.0.0` by default.
5. The sink is `cursor.execute(query)` with a fully attacker-controlled query.
## Impact
- Unauthenticated arbitrary SQL execution against the configured database
- Full data exfiltration and modification
- If the MySQL account holds `FILE` privilege: arbitrary file read (`LOAD_FILE`) and write (`INTO OUTFILE`) — potential RCE via webshell drop
- Internet-wide scanning has identified 25 publicly reachable SSE instances of this project
## Fix
Released in v0.4.2: DNS-rebinding protection is now enabled by passing `TransportSecuritySettings(enable_dns_rebinding_protection=True)` to `SseServerTransport`, and the documented recommended bind address is `127.0.0.1`.
## Credits
Discovered by Huanchen, SongWu (JHU), and BrookeYangRui (JHU).
References
External links from the advisory. They lead to third-party sites.