GHSA-gjv4-ghm7-q58q

Описание

Summary

A command injection vulnerability exists in the mcp-server-kubernetes MCP Server. The vulnerability is caused by the unsanitized use of input parameters within a call to child_process.execSync, enabling an attacker to inject arbitrary system commands. Successful exploitation can lead to remote code execution under the server process's privileges.

The server constructs and executes shell commands using unvalidated user input directly within command-line strings. This introduces the possibility of shell metacharacter injection (|, >, &&, etc.).

Details

The MCP Server exposes tools (kubectl_scale, kubectl_patch , explain_resource, etc) to perform several kubernetes operations. An MCP Client can be instructed to execute additional actions for example via prompt injection when asked to read pod logs. Below some example of vulnerable code and different ways to test this vulnerability including a real example of indirect prompt injection that can lead to arbitrary command injection.

Vulnerable code

The following snippet illustrates the vulnerable code pattern used in the MCP Server’s tooling. Note: These is only one instance, but similar patterns may exist elsewhere in the codebase.

• kubectl_scale tool

PoC

Indirect prompt injection via pod logs

An MCP Client can be instructed to execute additional actions for example via indirect prompt injection in pod logs. The following PoC shows how reading pod logs can lead to execution of additional tools vulnerable to command injection.

When the client reads pod logs as part of its contextual input, it may inadvertently interpret injected instructions embedded in log messages as legitimate commands or follow-up instructions.

This behavior can be exploited to cause the model to execute unintended actions, leading to an arbitrary command execution on the host where the MCP server is running.

1. start minikube

2. create a pod that contains instructions in logs

• poc-pod.yaml

3. apply the pod

4. observe the logs

5. check il the file /tmp/TEST1 exists

6. Use an MCP Client IDE
7. Add and enable the mcp-server-kubernetes

8. open the chat and use the following prompt (it's just an example):

9. run the kubectl_logs tool

10. Observe that the response will contain the pod logs but will also trigger the kubectl_scale tool execution with a malicious payload that can lead to command injection. The following tool will be called (without user request but just following the instructions in the pod log):

11. run the kubectl_scale tool
12. Confirm that the injected command executed:

Using MCP Inspector

1. Open the MCP Inspector:

2. In MCP Inspector:

   • set transport type: STDIO
   • set the command to npx
   • set the arguments to mcp-server-kubernetes
   • click Connect
   • go to the Tools tab and click List Tools
   • select the kubectl_scale tool

3. Verify the file /tmp/TEST does not exist:

5. In the namespace field, input:

while in field name input test and in replicas field input 1

• Click Run Tool

6. Observe the request being sent:

7. Confirm that the injected command executed:

Use an MCP Client IDE

1. add and enable the mcp-server-kubernetes

2. check il the file /tmp/TEST3 exists

3. open the chat and use the following prompt (it's just an example):

4. run the kubectl_scale tool

5. check that the file /tmp/TEST3 is created

Remediation

To mitigate this vulnerability, I suggest to avoid using child_process.execSync with untrusted input. Instead, use a safer API such as child_process.execFileSync, which allows you to pass arguments as a separate array — avoiding shell interpretation entirely.

Impact

Command Injection / Remote Code Execution (RCE)

References

• https://equixly.com/blog/2025/03/29/mcp-server-new-security-nightmare/
• https://invariantlabs.ai/blog/mcp-github-vulnerability

Similar Issues

• https://github.com/cyanheads/git-mcp-server/commit/0dbd6995ccdf76ab770b58013034365b2d06c4d9