GitHub Advisoryadvisory · PyPI

GHSA-hxpf-9xvq-wph8 netlicensing-mcp: REST Path Traversal Bypasses Token Redaction

CRITICAL Published 2026-06-18 Modified 2026-10-15 Official page ↗
Aliases
CVE-2026-57496
Ecosystem
PyPI
Packages
netlicensing-mcp
Severity
Critical
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N
Weaknesses
CWE-22
Reviewed
2026-06-18

Affected packages

• PyPI netlicensing-mcp: < 0.1.8 → fixed in 0.1.8

Description

Summary The `netlicensing_get_product` MCP tool in `netlicensing-mcp` interpolates a caller-controlled `product_number` argument directly into a REST URL path without any validation. Passing `../token` as the product number causes `httpx` to normalize `/product/../token` into `/token`, silently redirecting the request to the NetLicensing token endpoint instead of the intended product endpoint. The response is then serialized through the generic `_wrap_json` wrapper rather than the token-specific `_wrap_json_token_read` wrapper, bypassing all APIKEY `number` and SHOP `shopURL` redaction. An authenticated MCP client can recover plaintext API key values that the token read tools intentionally mask, including admin-level APIKEY credentials. Details The vulnerability is a path traversal (CWE-22) that exploits the interaction between unsanitized string interpolation and `httpx`'s WHATWG URL normalization. Source — `src/netlicensing_mcp/tools/products.py:22` ```python async def get_product(product_number: str) -> dict: """Get a single product by its number.""" return strip_output_fields(await nl_get(f"/product/{product_number}")) ``` `product_number` is inserted directly into the REST path with no validation. A value of `../token` produces the path `/product/../token`. Sink — `src/netlicensing_mcp/client.py:143` ```python async def nl_get(path: str, params: dict[str, str] | None = None) -> dict[str, Any]: client = _get_client() url = f"{BASE_URL}{path}" ... r = await client.get(url, headers=_headers(), params=params or {}) ``` `httpx` constructs the full URL as `{BASE_URL}/product/../token` and, per WHATWG URL normalization rules applied to absolute URLs, resolves it to `{BASE_URL}/token`. The HTTP request is therefore sent to the NetLicensing `/core/v2/rest/token` endpoint. Redaction bypass — `src/netlicensing_mcp/server.py:336` and `src/netlicensing_mcp/redaction.py:180-239` The tool handler wraps the response via `_wrap_json(entity, "Product")`, which calls only the generic `_json()` redaction. The token-specific path `_wrap_json_token_read()` → `redact_token_read()` is never invoked. The function `redact_token_read()` at `redaction.py:180-239` is the only code that masks APIKEY `number` and SHOP `shopURL` fields; because it is not on this code path, the raw API key value is returned verbatim in the MCP tool output. Complete data flow: 1. `server.py:312-321` — MCP dispatcher receives attacker-controlled `product_number` and calls `products.get_product(product_number)`. 2. `tools/products.py:22` — value interpolated into `f"/product/{product_number}"` without validation. 3. `client.py:143` — `url = f"{BASE_URL}{path}"`; `httpx` normalizes `../` and sends request to `/token` endpoint. 4. `server.py:336` — response wrapped as `"Product"` via `_wrap_json`, not `_wrap_json_token_read`. 5. `server.py:160-165` — generic `_json()` redaction applies only default-field masking. 6. `redaction.py:180-239` — `redact_token_read()` with APIKEY/SHOP-specific masking is never reached. PoC Prerequisites • Python 3.10+ • `netlicensing-mcp` 0.1.5 (or local commit `c8a3fec`) installed or available via `PYTHONPATH` • `httpx`, `python-dotenv`, `mcp[cli]` installed Option A — Docker (recommended, reproduces Phase 2 result) ```bash Build from the repository root (requires repo/ and vuln-001/ directories) docker build -t netlicensing-vuln-001 \ -f vuln-001/Dockerfile \ reports/pypiAi_1561_Labs64__NetLicensing-MCP/ Run — exit code 0 confirms the vulnerability docker run --rm netlicensing-vuln-001 ``` Option B — Direct Python ```bash cd /path/to/Labs64__NetLicensing-MCP PYTHONPATH=src python3 - str: + if not path.startswith("/"): + raise NetLicensingError(400, "Internal error: upstream path must start with '/'") + for segment in path.split("/"): + decoded = unquote(segment) + if decoded in {".", ".."} or "/" in decoded or "\\" in decoded: + raise NetLicensingError(400, "Invalid identifier: path separators are not allowed") + if any(ord(ch) dict[str, Any]: • url = f"{BASE_URL}{path}" + url = f"{BASE_URL}{_validated_path(path)}" ``` Apply the same change to `nl_post`, `nl_put`, and `nl_delete`. Add regression tests for inputs `../token`, `%2e%2e`, `%2f`, and `x/y`. Impact An authenticated MCP client (one that already holds a NetLicensing API key sufficient to call any MCP tool) can call `netlicensing_get_product("../token")` to retrieve plaintext APIKEY `number` values and SHOP `shopURL` values that the dedicated token read tools (`netlicensing_get_token`, `netlicensing_list_tokens`) intentionally redact. If the retrieved token carries `ROLE_APIKEY_ADMIN` privileges, the attacker gains full read/write/delete access over all resources in the target NetLicensing account, escalating from a scoped MCP client to account owner. This vulnerability is exploitable in any deployment mode — stdio (single-user) and HTTP/shared — because no non-default configuration is required. The attack requires only a valid API key to authenticate the MCP session; no admin privileges are needed to trigger the traversal. Reproduction artifacts `Dockerfile` ```d…

Related

Alias · CVE (1)

  • CVE-2026-57496 NetLicensing MCP Server is a natural-language interface that enables agentic applications to manage the software-licensing lifecycle in… vulnerability

Weakness · CWE (1)

  • CWE-22 Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory weakness

References