Computer Science > Cryptography and Security
arXiv:2506.02040 (cs)
Submitted on 31 May 2025 ([v1), last revised 14 Sep 2025 (this version, v4)]
Title:Beyond the Protocol: Unveiling Attack Vectors in the Model Context Protocol (MCP) Ecosystem
Authors:Hao Song, Yiming Shen, Wenxuan Luo, Leixin Guo, Ting Chen, Jiashui Wang, Beibei Li, Xiaosong Zhang, Jiachi Chen
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Abstract:
The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an emerging standard designed to enable seamless interaction between Large Language Model (LLM) applications and external tools or resources. Within a short period, thousands of MCP services have been developed and deployed. However, the client-server integration architecture inherent in MCP may expand the attack surface against LLM Agent systems, introducing new vulnerabilities that allow attackers to exploit by designing malicious MCP servers. In this paper, we present the first end-to-end empirical evaluation of attack vectors targeting the MCP ecosystem. We identify four categories of attacks, i.e., Tool Poisoning Attacks, Puppet Attacks, Rug Pull Attacks, and Exploitation via Malicious External Resources. To evaluate their feasibility, we conduct experiments following the typical steps of launching an attack through malicious MCP servers: upload -> download -> attack. Specifically, we first construct malicious MCP servers and successfully upload them to three widely used MCP aggregation platforms. The results indicate that current audit mechanisms are insufficient to identify and prevent these threats. Next, through a user study and interview with 20 participants, we demonstrate that users struggle to identify malicious MCP servers and often unknowingly install them from aggregator platforms. Finally, we empirically demonstrate that these attacks can trigger harmful actions within the user's local environment, such as accessing private files or controlling devices to transfer digital assets. Additionally, based on interview results, we discuss four key challenges faced by the current MCP security ecosystem. These findings underscore the urgent need for robust security mechanisms to defend against malicious MCP servers and ensure the safe deployment of increasingly autonomous LLM agents.
| Subjects: | Cryptography and Security (cs.CR); Software Engineering (cs.SE) |
|---|---|
| Cite as: | arXiv:2506.02040 [cs.CR] |
| (or arXiv:2506.02040v4 [cs.CR] for this version) | |
| https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2506.02040 arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite |
Submission history
From: Hao Song [
view email
]
[v1]
Sat, 31 May 2025 08:01:11 UTC (521 KB)
[v2]
Thu, 5 Jun 2025 16:22:09 UTC (521 KB)
[v3]
Wed, 20 Aug 2025 02:42:06 UTC (521 KB)
[v4]
Sun, 14 Sep 2025 07:48:51 UTC (574 KB)
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