CVE Feed
7.5 High

@sylphx/pdf-reader-mcp: HTTP transport accepts unauthenticated requests despite a configured MCP_API_KEY

CVE-2026-62264

Impact When @sylphx/pdf-reader-mcp is run as an HTTP server (MCPTRANSPORT=http), it reads the MCPAPIKEY environment variable and logs API key authentication enabled (X-API-Key header) at startup, but it never validated the X-API-Key header on incoming requests. The key was read into a variable and never enforced on the request path. As a result, the /mcp endpoint accepted unauthenticated requests. Combined with the default bind address of 0.0.0.0 (all interfaces), any client able to reach the port could invoke every PDF tool and read the contents of any PDF the server process could open anywhere on the host. URL-based sources also enable limited SSRF (private/loopback addresses are blocked by default unless --allow-private-ips is set). The misleading startup log made the exposure silent: an operator who set MCPAPIKEY reasonably believed the server was protected when it was not. This affects only the opt-in HTTP transport; the default stdio transport is unaffected. Patches Fixed in @sylphx/pdf-reader-mcp@3.0.1. The fix enforces the X-API-Key header with a constant-time comparison (rejecting missing/mismatched keys with HTTP 401), changes the default bind host to 127.0.0.1…

Part of the AI stack

This affects Model Context Protocol, in MCP & tool servers.

Assessment

CVSS
7.5 (v3.1)
Severity
High
Known exploited
Not listed in CISA KEV
Exploit availability
Nothing found in Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei or public PoC repositories
Published
29 October 2026
Last updated
29 October 2026
Affected
npm · @sylphx/pdf-reader-mcp
Weakness
CWE-200, CWE-287, CWE-306

CVSS vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

At the source

References

Query this programmatically

Agents can read this through the MCP endpoint, or over HTTP:

curl https://cve.zerocrew.in/api/cve/CVE-2026-62264