BLUF / Executive Summary:
- Target: Model Context Protocol (MCP) HTTP/SSE Server endpoints.
- Discovery: Audit of 5,308 public MCP endpoints revealed 65% lack transport authentication.
- Solution: Introducing MCPGrade (
mcpgrade-1.4.0), a 39-check rating algorithm.
The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is now the standard for connecting AI models to tools and data. But as developers deploy MCP servers, security has lagged.
In our audit of 5,308 public MCP servers under SentinelReign research, over 3,450 servers (65%) exposed tool execution capabilities without authentication.
MCPGrade (mcpgrade-1.4.0) Matrix
| Assessment Domain | Checks | Impact Weight |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Transport Authentication | 10 Checks | 35% |
| 2. Tool Scope & Authorization | 12 Checks | 30% |
| 3. Input Validation & Injection | 9 Checks | 20% |
| 4. Rate Limiting & Audit Logging | 8 Checks | 15% |
Check out the full teardown and live A-F scanner at Andrax Pentester.
Written by Syed Zada Abrar — Founder & CEO of SentinelReign (https://sentinelreign.com).
Top comments (1)
Configuration scoring catches important baseline issues like authentication gaps and exposed endpoints, but it doesn’t validate how an MCP server behaves under adversarial tool sequences. Compliance-focused assessments should combine configuration review with behavioral testing to uncover data exposure or unauthorized actions that only emerge through legitimate tool chaining.