docs(security): SAFE-MCP internal advisory 2026-04-17

docs/security/safe-mcp-advisory-2026-04-17.md

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+# SAFE-MCP Advisory — 2026-04-17
+
+**Type:** Internal action advisory (distilled from full audit)
+**Full audit:** `docs/security/safe-mcp-audit-2026-04-17.md` (SAFE-MCP, 438 lines)
+**Audience:** Engineering leads, platform team
+**Prepared by:** Documentation Specialist (pairs with PR #808)
+
+---
+
+## TL;DR — What needs fixing and in what order
+
+| # | Finding | Severity | Owner | Status |
+|---|---------|----------|-------|--------|
+| 1 | NEW-003: Unpinned npm MCP packages in `.mcp.json` | **HIGH** | Platform | Open — fix in next deploy |
+| 2 | VULN-003: No manifest signing on GitHub plugin install | **HIGH** | Platform | Open — Phase 35 |
+| 3 | VULN-004: Floating plugin refs (no pinned SHA) | **HIGH** | Platform | Open — Phase 35 |
+| 4 | VULN-002: GLOBAL memory prompt injection (partial) | **HIGH** | Platform | Partially mitigated (#767) |
+| 5 | VULN-006: No tool output sanitization in MCP server | MEDIUM | DevRel/SDK | Open |
+| 6 | NEW-002: subprocess sandbox allows `language=shell` | MEDIUM | Platform | By-design; needs scope review |
+| 7 | NEW-001: LangGraph A2A calls missing auth headers | MEDIUM | LangGraph template | Open |
+| 8 | VULN-005: GLOBAL memories visible to all workspaces | MEDIUM | Platform | Partially mitigated (#767) |
+| 9 | NEW-004: `_maybe_log_skill_promotion` unauthenticated heartbeat | LOW | Platform | Open |
+
+**Already fixed:** VULN-001 (`X-Workspace-ID` system-caller header forge) — confirmed resolved in PR #766.
+
+---
+
+## Immediate action: NEW-003 (HIGH) — Pin npm MCP packages
+
+**File:** `.mcp.json` — change both entries before next developer onboarding or CI run.
+
+Current (unsafe):
+```json
+"args": ["-y", "@molecule-ai/mcp-server"]
+```
+
+Fixed:
+```json
+"args": ["@molecule-ai/mcp-server@<current-version>"]
+```
+
+Steps:
+1. Run `npm show @molecule-ai/mcp-server version` and `npm show @awareness-sdk/local version` to get the latest pinnable version.
+2. Update `.mcp.json` — remove `-y` flag, add `@<exact-version>` to each package name.
+3. Add a `package.json` + `package-lock.json` alongside `.mcp.json` to lock the full dependency tree.
+4. Wire `npm audit signatures` into CI (`molecule-ci` pipeline).
+
+**Why this is urgent:** `npx -y` fetches and executes the latest published npm package on every invocation with no integrity check. A compromised `@molecule-ai` npm account or a dependency confusion attack causes arbitrary code execution in the Claude Code developer environment.
+
+---
+
+## Short-term (Phase 35): Plugin supply-chain hardening
+
+VULN-003 and VULN-004 require a Phase 35 track. Recommended scope:
+
+1. **Require pinned refs** — reject `github://org/repo` without `#<40-char-sha>`. Already gated by `PLUGIN_ALLOW_UNPINNED` (PR #775); make `false` the hard default in production.
+2. **Add manifest content hash** — add a `sha256:` field to `plugin.yaml` covering the cloned content tree. Verify post-clone before staging.
+3. **Consider sigstore/GPG release signing** for first-party plugins (`molecule-ai-plugin-*`).
+
+---
+
+## Medium-term: GLOBAL memory scope hardening
+
+VULN-002 / VULN-005 — delimiter wrapping (PR #767) reduces injection risk but does not prevent a malicious workspace from writing to GLOBAL scope and having the injected prompt read by a different workspace. Proposed additional controls:
+
+- Rate-limit GLOBAL `commit_memory` writes per workspace per hour.
+- Add a supervisor/approval flow for GLOBAL writes from untrusted workspaces.
+- Consider making GLOBAL scope read-only except for privileged system roles.
+
+---
+
+## References
+
+- Full audit: `docs/security/safe-mcp-audit-2026-04-17.md`
+- SAFE-MCP framework: `docs/security/safe-mcp-audit.md`
+- Issue tracker: #747 (parent), see follow-on issues linked from PR #808
+- Public docs: PR #18 on `Molecule-AI/docs` (covers only customer-visible security notes)