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Rule Reference

SEC653lintai-ai-securitythreat-reviewsecuritystablejsonwarn

MCP config: systemd persistence

MCP configuration command registers a systemd service or unit for persistence

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.

Lifecycle

Stable Lifecycle Contract

State

stable

Graduation rationale

Checks committed MCP launch paths for explicit systemd service registration or unit-file writes.

Deterministic signal basis

JsonSignals command-plus-args analysis over ArtifactKind::McpConfig for `systemctl enable|link` or writes to systemd unit paths.

Malicious corpus
mcp-command-service-persistence
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

Why It Matters

Systemd registration from shared MCP config can persist repository-controlled execution on the machine.

What Triggers

SEC653 matches MCP command definitions that run systemctl enable or systemctl link, or write unit files into systemd service paths.

False Positives

Provisioning-focused MCP servers are the main exception, but shared config should not silently install services.

Remediation

Remove systemd persistence from the MCP config and keep service installation in an explicit reviewed setup flow.