Securing MCP Servers

1. Introduction to MCP Security Understanding the MCP architecture and why securing agentic pipelines differs fundamentally from traditional REST or GraphQL APIs. Mapping the core security implications of dynamic tool discovery and execution. 2. The Agentic AI Attack Surface Analyzing how agents, tools, prompts, and server environments interact. Identifying trust boundaries between host applications, LLMs, and connected MCP servers. 3. Vulnerability Deep Dive & Hands-On Exploitation Prompt Injection & AI Social Engineering: Tricking agents into bypassing guardrails or leaking sensitive system instructions via untrusted context. Preference Attacks: Manipulating server descriptions or metadata to force agents into selecting malicious or unauthorized MCP servers. Privilege Escalation: Exploiting improper access controls to let an agent execute actions or access data belonging to another user. Supply Chain Risks: Evaluating third-party MCP package vulnerabilities, dependency confusion, and untrusted tool distribution. 4. Zero-Trust Defense & Remediation Designing secure MCP servers with strict input validation and least-privilege principles. Implementing robust authorization checks, stateful session handling, and Identity Assertion patterns. Best practices for auditing and testing your own MCP implementations before production deployment.