GHSA-r78r-rwrf-rjwp Network-AI: CVE-2026-46701 fix incomplete — empty default secret still authorizes all requests

• npm network-ai: < 5.7.2 → fixed in 5.7.2

Advisory / Disclosure Network-AI — CVE-2026-46701 fix is incomplete: the "Empty Default Secret" unauth path survives Target: Jovancoding/Network-AI (npm `network-ai`), latest v5.7.1 Status: the advisory ("Unauthenticated Cross-Origin MCP Tool Invocation via Empty Default Secret") named three flaws. The fix (5.4.5) closed the CORS flaw (`Access-Control-Allow-Origin` is now set only for localhost origins), but left the empty-default-secret flaw the title is about: the SSE MCP server still defaults to an empty secret, `_isAuthorized()` still returns `true` when the secret is empty, and a non-loopback bind only warns. So the server still runs fully unauthenticated by default — any non-browser caller (curl, SSRF, or a `0.0.0.0` bind) can invoke all 22 MCP tools (`config_set`, `agent_spawn`, `blackboard_write`, `token_*`) with no credentials. Class: CWE-306/CWE-862 Missing Authentication — incomplete fix. Methodology: M1 incomplete-fix audit (anchor = the 5.4.5 fix; sibling-walk on latest v5.7.1, executed). Severity: High (matches parent; the browser amplifier is removed, so exploitation now needs non-browser reach — SSRF or a non-loopback bind, which the fix only warns about). What the fix did and didn't do (verified on latest v5.7.1) | advisory flaw | latest v5.7.1 | |---|---| | wildcard CORS (`ACAO: *`) | FIXED — `lib/mcp-transport-sse.ts` sets `ACAO` only when `origin` matches `^https?://(localhost\|127\.0\.0\.1)(:\d+)?$` | | empty default secret | NOT FIXED — `bin/mcp-server.ts`: `secret: process.env['NETWORK_AI_MCP_SECRET'] ?? ''` | | `_isAuthorized` open on empty secret | NOT FIXED — `if (!this._opts.secret) return true;` | | require secret / refuse unauth bind | NOT DONE — `listen()` only `process.stderr.write('… WARNING …')` on non-loopback bind, then listens anyway | The advisory's remediation #1 ("Require a non-empty secret at startup … `process.exit(1)`") was not implemented. PoC (executed against the latest source, v5.7.1) — `poc/legend-networkai-empty-secret.ts` Instantiates the real `McpSseServer` from the latest `lib/` with a mock bridge and the default (empty) secret, then issues requests (run-log `poc/run-log.txt`): ``` POST /mcp no-auth, no-origin (curl/SSRF) -> HTTP 200, dispatched=true body: {"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"result":{"executed":true,"tool":"config_set"}} POST /mcp Origin: evil.example.com -> ACAO=undefined (CORS half fixed) ``` The no-auth request passes `_isAuthorized` and reaches `handleRPC` (tool dispatched) — i.e. unauthenticated tool invocation persists on the latest release; only the browser-CORS read amplifier was removed. Run: from a v5.7.1 checkout, `npm i` then `npx ts-node --transpile-only poc/legend-networkai-empty-secret.ts`. Recommended fix Implement the advisory's remediation #1: refuse to start SSE mode with an empty secret (unless `--stdio`), and/or change `_isAuthorized` to fail closed (an empty configured secret should mean "deny", not "allow"). The CORS allowlist alone does not authenticate non-browser callers. Precondition / honesty With CORS now localhost-only, the drive-by *browser* attack is mitigated. The residual requires a non-browser path to the port: an SSRF on the host, or the operator binding to a non-loopback address (Docker/remote), which the fix only warns about. The empty secret remains the shipped default and `_isAuthorized` still authorizes it. Credits @Kai Aizen / @SnailSploit — https://snailsploit.com