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Rule Reference

SEC654lintai-ai-securitystablejsonwarn

MCP config: launchd persistence

MCP configuration command registers a launchd plist for persistence

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

Checks committed MCP launch paths for explicit launchd registration or LaunchAgents/LaunchDaemons plist writes.

Deterministic signal basis

JsonSignals command-plus-args analysis over ArtifactKind::McpConfig for `launchctl load|bootstrap` or writes to LaunchAgents/LaunchDaemons plist paths.

Malicious corpus
mcp-command-service-persistence
Benign corpus
mcp-safe-basic
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

Why It Matters ​

Launchd registration from shared MCP config can establish persistent macOS execution controlled through the repository.

What Triggers ​

SEC654 matches MCP command definitions that run launchctl load or launchctl bootstrap, or write plist files into LaunchAgents or LaunchDaemons locations.

False Positives ​

Provisioning servers may manage launchd intentionally, but that should remain explicit and reviewed.

Remediation ​

Remove launchd persistence from the MCP config and keep plist installation outside ordinary shared server launch paths.