AnkiMCP: DNS rebinding reaches unauthenticated local AnkiMCP HTTP tools
- Published
- Last modified
- Where the record stands: published, rejected by its publisher, or superseded by another id.What do these mean? →
- published
- Whether CISA lists it in its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog: proof that attackers are using it.What do these mean? →
- Not listed in CISA KEV
- Fix
- Fixed in 0.21.0
- Whether working attack code is public (Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei or GitHub). Public code makes attacks easier.What do these mean? →
- None on Exploit-DB, Metasploit or GitHub
- Exploitation: poc
- Automatable: no
- Technical impact: total
Summary
A malicious web page visited while the AnkiMCP Anki addon and its local HTTP listener are running can reach that unauthenticated server on the user's machine via DNS rebinding. An attacker could then read the local Anki flashcard collection and create or modify notes and decks, unless the user has the destructive tools enabled.
Summarized by anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5. Verify details against the original sources.
Read the original description
AnkiMCP is an Anki addon that implements an MCP server, enabling AI assistants to interact with the Anki flashcard application. Prior to version 0.21.0, `anki_mcp_server/mcp_server.py` globally disables FastMCP DNS-rebinding protection through `TransportSecuritySettings` with `enable_dns_rebinding_protection=False`, including for the default local Streamable HTTP listener. The defaults in `anki_mcp_server/config.py` enable `http_enabled` on `127.0.0.1:3141`, with an empty `http_path` selecting the root endpoint. No bearer token, API key, session secret, strict `Host` allowlist or strict `Origin` allowlist is enforced before `initialize`, `tools/list` and `tools/call` reach MCP dispatch. A victim who visits a malicious web page while Anki and the listener are running can have browser requests rebound to loopback, allowing the attacker to `initialize` MCP, enumerate tools, read the local collection, and perform enabled non-destructive note/deck creation or updates. The attacker needs neither LAN position nor a local process. Available operations depend on enabled tool filters; destructive tools are hidden unless `enabled_destructive_tools` is opted into, limiting deletion-level impact but not the exposed read/write operations. The reported harness confirms real MCP tool dispatch with substituted Anki bridge responses rather than demonstrating destructive changes to a real collection. Disabling protection for tunnels/proxies also disables it for the normal loopback configuration. This issue is fixed in version 0.21.0.
Timeline
- CVE published
- First seen by cve.now
- CISA SSVC assessment
Exploitation: poc · Automatable: no · Technical impact: total
- Record last updated
Affected versions
- ankimcp anki-mcp-server-addon
fixed in 0.21.0