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CVE-2026-54446 – Unauthenticated API Key Misuse / Full Account Takeover – NetLicensing-MCP ≤ 0.1.5

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Summary

CVE-2026-54446 is a missing authentication vulnerability (CWE-306) in NetLicensing-MCP, a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that bridges AI agents to the Labs64 NetLicensing licensing API. When run in HTTP transport mode, the server’s authentication middleware fails to reject requests that omit client credentials, allowing an unauthenticated network attacker to invoke any MCP tool under the operator’s own NetLicensing API key. The issue has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.1 (High).

Technical details

  • Root cause: ApiKeyMiddleware in the server’s request-handling code does not enforce presence or validity of a client-supplied API key — requests without credentials are passed through to the next handler instead of being rejected.
  • Trigger condition: The downstream HTTP client component falls back to the operator’s NETLICENSING_API_KEY environment variable whenever no client key is supplied, using that server-side secret to authenticate the request to the upstream NetLicensing REST API.
  • Attack vector: Network-based, no authentication or user interaction required (AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N). An attacker only needs network access to an instance deployed in HTTP transport mode with a server-side API key configured.
  • Impact: A remote, unauthenticated attacker can enumerate products, licenses, licensees, and transaction data (confidentiality), create or modify licenses and licensees and forge token-based validations (integrity), and bulk-delete products, licenses, or licensees (availability) — all under the operator’s own account identity and quota.

Affected software

  • Labs64 NetLicensing-MCP (PyPI package netlicensing-mcp) versions <= 0.1.5
  • Only deployments run in HTTP transport mode with a server-side NETLICENSING_API_KEY configured and network-reachable are exposed; stdio-based/local deployments are not affected.

Severity

  • CVSS v3.1 Base Score: 8.1 (High)
  • Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Mitigation and recommended actions

  • Immediate: Upgrade NetLicensing-MCP to version 0.1.6 or later, which enforces authentication in ApiKeyMiddleware before forwarding requests.
  • If unable to patch immediately:
    • Avoid running NetLicensing-MCP in HTTP transport mode on network-reachable interfaces; restrict it to local/stdio transport where possible.
    • If HTTP mode is required, place the service behind a network-level access control (firewall/allowlist) or an authenticating reverse proxy so unauthenticated requests cannot reach the MCP endpoint.
    • Rotate the NETLICENSING_API_KEY used by any exposed deployment, and monitor NetLicensing account activity for unexpected license/product creation, modification, or deletion.
    • Note: NetLicensing-MCP has a separate, distinct path traversal issue (GHSA-hxpf-9xvq-wph8) fixed in version 0.1.8; organizations patching for CVE-2026-54446 should upgrade to the latest available release rather than the minimum fixed version.

References

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