CVE-2026-53709
Received Received - Intake

JWT Secret Key Hard-Coded in MCP Context Forge

Publication date: 2026-10-13

Last updated on: 2026-10-13

Assigner: GitHub, Inc.

Description
MCP Context Forge is an MCP gateway and administrative platform. Prior to 1.0.2, mcpgateway/config.py and .env.example ship a known JWT_SECRET_KEY, while verify_jwt_token() accepts HS256 tokens signed with that key and get_current_user() creates a platform administrator when the token subject matches PLATFORM_ADMIN_EMAIL and REQUIRE_USER_IN_DB is false. A remote unauthenticated attacker can therefore mint accepted administrator tokens without a database account. While the vulnerable signing key remains configured and the platform-admin bootstrap remains enabled, forged access survives password rotation, account deletion, and session revocation, allowing administrative disclosure, modification, and service disruption. This issue is fixed in version 1.0.2.

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Meta Information

Published
2026-10-13
Last Modified
2026-10-13
Generated
2026-10-13
AI Q&A
2026-10-13
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
CVE-2026-53709
EUVD
EUVD-2026-98769

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
IBM mcp-context-forge < 1.0.2

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-287 When an actor claims to have a given identity, the product does not prove or insufficiently proves that the claim is correct.
CWE-321 The product uses a hard-coded, unchangeable cryptographic key.
CWE-798 The product contains hard-coded credentials, such as a password or cryptographic key.
CWE-1188 The product initializes or sets a resource with a default that is intended to be changed by the product's installer, administrator, or maintainer, but the default is not secure.

Attack-Flow Graph

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Executive Summary

MCP Context Forge before 1.0.2 uses a hardcoded JWT_SECRET_KEY for signing tokens. The verify_jwt_token() function accepts HS256 tokens signed with this key, and get_current_user() creates a platform admin if the token subject matches PLATFORM_ADMIN_EMAIL and REQUIRE_USER_IN_DB is false. An unauthenticated attacker can forge admin tokens without a database account.

Detection Guidance

Check if MCP Context Forge versions prior to 1.0.2 are running. Inspect configuration files like mcpgateway/config.py and .env.example for a hardcoded JWT_SECRET_KEY. Verify if verify_jwt_token() accepts HS256 tokens signed with that key and if get_current_user() creates an admin when REQUIRE_USER_IN_DB is false.

Impact Analysis

An attacker can gain full administrative access to the MCP Context Forge platform. This allows them to disclose, modify, or disrupt services. The forged access persists even after password rotation, account deletion, or session revocation because the vulnerable signing key remains configured.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability likely violates compliance requirements for data protection and access control, such as GDPR and HIPAA. Unauthorized administrative access risks exposing sensitive data, violating confidentiality, and failing to implement proper authentication and authorization controls.

Mitigation Strategies

Upgrade MCP Context Forge to version 1.0.2 or later. Remove any hardcoded JWT_SECRET_KEY from config.py and .env.example. Disable REQUIRE_USER_IN_DB if set to false. Rotate all JWT secrets and invalidate existing tokens. Review and remove any unauthorized admin accounts created via this vulnerability.

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