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Rule Reference

SEC546lintai-ai-securitystablejsonwarn

MCP config: Bash(*) auto-approve

MCP configuration auto-approves blanket shell execution with `autoApprove: ["Bash(*)"]`

Provider
lintai-ai-security
Surface
json
Scope
per_file
Tier
stable
Severity
warn
Confidence
high
Detection
structural
Remediation
message_only

Activation Model

Preset Membership

This rule is part of the builtin activation graph through these preset memberships.

basemembership
mcpmembership

Lifecycle

Stable Lifecycle Contract

State

stable_gated

Graduation rationale

Matches explicit blanket shell auto-approval in MCP client config.

Deterministic signal basis

JsonSignals exact array-item detection for `autoApprove: ["Bash(*)"]` on parsed MCP configuration.

Malicious corpus
mcp-autoapprove-bash-wildcard
Benign corpus
mcp-autoapprove-bash-specific-safe
structured evidence required remediation reviewed
Canonical note

Structural stable rule intended as a high-precision check with deterministic evidence.

Nearby Signals

Related Rules

SEC301MCP config: shell trampolineMCP configuration shells out through sh -c or bash -cjsonstable
SEC302Config: insecure HTTP endpointConfiguration contains an insecure http:// endpointjsonstable
SEC303MCP config: credential env passthroughMCP configuration passes through credential environment variablesjsonstable
SEC304Config: TLS verification disabledConfiguration disables TLS or certificate verificationjsonstable
SEC305Config: hardcoded auth materialConfiguration embeds static authentication material in a connection or auth valuejsonstable
SEC309Config: literal secrets in configConfiguration commits literal secret material in env, auth, or header valuesjsonstable

SEC546 / MCP-AUTOAPPROVE-BASH-WILDCARD ​

SEC546 flags MCP configuration when autoApprove includes the exact tool token Bash(*).

Why It Matters ​

autoApprove removes the normal review boundary for named MCP tools. Bash(*) is a blanket shell execution grant, so auto-approving it defeats most least-privilege expectations for MCP clients.

Trigger Shape ​

  • the file is a detected MCP configuration surface
  • autoApprove is a string array
  • the array contains the exact item Bash(*)

Clean Cases ​

  • narrower auto-approved tools such as Read(*)
  • reviewed specific shell grants instead of blanket Bash(*)
  • MCP configs without autoApprove

Example Trigger ​

json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "demo": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["server.js"],
      "autoApprove": ["Bash(*)"]
    }
  }
}

Safer Example ​

json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "demo": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["server.js"],
      "autoApprove": ["Read(*)"]
    }
  }
}

How To Fix ​

Remove blanket shell auto-approval and explicitly list only the narrowly reviewed MCP tools that truly need auto-approval.