Shiny tools, shallow checks: how the AI hype opens the door to malicious MCP servers


In this article, Kaspersky researchers explore how the Model Context Protocol (MCP) — the new “plug-in bus” for AI assistants — can be weaponized as a supply chain foothold.

The researchers start with a primer on MCP, map out protocol-level and supply chain attack paths, then walk through a hands-on proof of concept: a seemingly legitimate MCP server that harvests sensitive data every time a developer runs a tool. Then they break down the source code to reveal the server’s true intent and provide a set of mitigations for defenders to spot and stop similar threats.

Read more…
Source: Kaspersky


Sign up for the Cyber Security Review Newsletter
The latest cyber security news and insights delivered right to your inbox


Related:

  • Blinder Tunnel Campaign Targets Iraqi Infrastructure

    October 6, 2026

    Palo Alto Unit 42 discovered that an Iranian state-aligned threat actor has been masquerading as the Dubai Airports IT department to deliver trojanized coding challenges to high-value targets. Unit 42 tracks the activity as CL-STA-1178. This activity includes a campaign they call “Blinder Tunnel,” that targeted Iraqi critical infrastructure in March 2026, following infrastructure staging ...

  • Hackers access data of 8.8 million people in Denmark in ‘extremely serious’ breach

    October 5, 2026

    A major cybersecurity breach has exposed the personal data of 8.8 million people in Denmark. Denmark has suffered a major data breach after hackers broke into the country’s national population registry and accessed the personal information of millions of people. The country’s digital affairs minister announced the data breach on Monday, calling it “an extremely serious incident” ...

  • ShinyHunters hacker in FBI data theft detained in Jordan, cooperating with bureau

    October 3, 2026

    A suspected member of the ShinyHunters hacking group, which ​says it stole data on every FBI employee, was detained in Jordan this week and is cooperating with the FBI, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Saif ‌al-Din Khader was detained by Jordanian authorities, the three sources said. Two of them said he was brought ...

  • Fortinet sounds the alarm over actively exploited FortiMail zero-day

    October 2, 2026

    Fortinet is warning customers to lock down FortiMail after attackers started exploiting a critical bug that lets them write files to vulnerable systems without logging in. The flaw, tracked as CVE-2026-104286, carries a CVSS score of 9.8 and affects multiple versions of Fortinet’s email security platform. Fortinet describes the vulnerability as a combination of path traversal and ...

  • SMTP is the key: BPFDoor and AVERAT hitting the network edge

    October 2, 2026

    Rapid7 tracked a set of Linux samples that blend into the software and device conventions of the telecom environments they target. The set spans a newly observed BPFDoor variant, a BPF Rekoobe build seen against South Korean targets, a dropper, and six builds of a Linux implant Rapid7 researchers track as AVERAT, deployed against Taiwanese ...

  • Operation KillSwitch: Teenager suspected of leading KillSec ransomware group

    October 1, 2026

    On 30 September 2026, law enforcement took control of KillSec’s leak site, securing at least 110 terabytes of data against further unauthorised access. The cybercrime group used the site to threaten organisations with the publication of stolen files unless they paid a ransom. The action was part of Operation KillSwitch, an international investigation led by German ...