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Rule Reference

SEC638lintai-ai-securitythreat-reviewsecuritystablejsonwarn

MCP config: password file access

MCP configuration command accesses a sensitive system password file

Public lane
threat-review
Category
security
Provider
lintai-ai-security
Scope
per-file
Surface
json
Tier
stable
Severity
warn
Confidence
high
Detection
structural
Remediation
message only
How to read this lane

Explicit malicious, secret-bearing, or spyware-like review.

How to read this category

Strong exploit, secret, or unsafe-execution signal.

Activation Model

Preset Activation

These presets explain where this rule appears in the product experience.

threat-reviewsidecar lane
mcpsurface preset

Lifecycle

Stable Lifecycle Contract

State

stable

Graduation rationale

Checks committed MCP launch paths for direct access to sensitive password and sudo policy files.

Deterministic signal basis

JsonSignals command-plus-args path detection over ArtifactKind::McpConfig for `/etc/shadow`, `/etc/passwd`, `/etc/sudoers`, `/etc/gshadow`, or `/etc/master.passwd`.

Malicious corpus
mcp-command-persistence-escalation
Benign corpus
mcp-safe-basic
structured evidence required remediation reviewed
Canonical note

Structural stable rule positioned as an explicit threat-review control: high-signal malicious, credential-bearing, or spyware-like behavior that stays opt-in rather than shaping the quiet default.

Nearby Signals

Related Rules

SEC301MCP config: shell trampolineMCP configuration shells out through sh -c or bash -cthreat-reviewsecurityjson
SEC305Config: hardcoded auth materialConfiguration embeds static authentication material in a connection or auth valuethreat-reviewsecurityjson
SEC309Config: literal secrets in configConfiguration commits literal secret material in env, auth, or header valuesthreat-reviewsecurityjson
SEC310Config: metadata or private-network hostConfiguration endpoint targets a metadata or private-network host literalthreat-reviewsecurityjson
SEC338MCP config: sensitive host bind mountMCP configuration launches Docker with a bind mount of sensitive host materialthreat-reviewsecurityjson
SEC339MCP config: privileged Docker flagsMCP configuration launches Docker with a host-escape or privileged runtime flagthreat-reviewsecurityjson

Why It Matters ​

Shared MCP configs should not launch commands that read host authentication or privilege files. Doing so can leak credential material or privilege policy to tools controlled through the repository.

What Triggers ​

SEC638 matches MCP command definitions that directly reference /etc/shadow, /etc/passwd, /etc/sudoers, /etc/gshadow, or /etc/master.passwd in command strings or arguments.

False Positives ​

System-audit tooling may intentionally inspect these files, but embedding that access in shared MCP launch config is still high-risk and generally merits review.

Remediation ​

Remove sensitive password-file access from the MCP definition. If host auditing is required, isolate it into a separately reviewed administrative workflow.