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Rule Reference

SEC684lintai-ai-securitythreat-reviewsecuritystablejsonwarn

MCP config: sensitive file exfiltration

MCP configuration command transfers a sensitive credential file to a remote destination

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 explicit transfer of sensitive credential files to remote destinations.

Deterministic signal basis

JsonSignals command-plus-args analysis over ArtifactKind::McpConfig for sensitive file paths such as `.env`, `.aws/credentials`, `.ssh/id_rsa`, or `.kube/config` combined with transfer commands like `scp`, `sftp`, `rsync`, `curl`, `aws s3 cp`, `gsutil cp`, or `rclone copy`.

Malicious corpus
mcp-command-sensitive-file-exfilmcp-command-sensitive-file-rclone-exfil
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 ​

Committed MCP launch paths should not upload local credential files or secret-bearing config files to remote buckets, endpoints, or hosts.

What Triggers ​

SEC684 matches MCP command and args combinations that pair sensitive file paths like .env, ~/.aws/credentials, ~/.ssh/id_rsa, or ~/.kube/config with transfer commands such as scp, rsync, curl --upload-file, aws s3 cp, or gsutil cp.

False Positives ​

If a server genuinely needs a credential file, it should read it locally on the host where it runs. Shipping a launcher that uploads the file elsewhere is a distinct and risky behavior.

Remediation ​

Remove the remote transfer of sensitive credential files from the committed MCP launch path and keep credential files local to the trusted runtime.