Critical severity · published Oct 13, 2026
CVE-2026-53709
MCP Context Forge: Hardcoded default JWT_SECRET_KEY shipped in source and .env.example enables pre-authentication platform admin token forgery
9.8
CVSS
0.6%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
MCP Context Forge is an MCP gateway and administrative platform. Prior to 1.0.2, mcpgateway/config.py and .env.example ship a known JWT_SECRET_KEY, while verify_jwt_token() accepts HS256 tokens signed with that key and get_current_user() creates a platform administrator when the token subject matches PLATFORM_ADMIN_EMAIL and REQUIRE_USER_IN_DB is false. A remote unauthenticated attacker can therefore mint accepted administrator tokens without a database account. While the vulnerable signing key remains configured and the platform-admin bootstrap remains enabled, forged access survives password rotation, account deletion, and session revocation, allowing administrative disclosure, modification, and service disruption. This issue is fixed in version 1.0.2.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High
Scope
Unchanged
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.6% · higher than 49% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
MC
mcp-context-forge · IBM
< 1.0.2 · source: vendor
References
NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-53709
CVE.org
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-53709
x_refsource_CONFIRM
https://github.com/IBM/mcp-context-forge/security/advisories/GHSA-m8rv-5m6m-32ff
x_refsource_MISC
https://github.com/IBM/mcp-context-forge/commit/2af690f894b6e35f5f21190fdab1505f023a5272
x_refsource_MISC
https://github.com/IBM/mcp-context-forge/releases/tag/v1.0.2
More from mcp-context-forge
10.0
CVE-2026-53710
MCP Context Forge: RestrictedPython sandbox bypass via getattr builtin in python_sandbox_server
6.6
CVE-2026-53708
ContextForge: DNS TOCTOU race condition causes SSRF protection bypass (`/admin/gateways/test`)
5.1
CVE-2026-53711
MCP ContextForge: Global Prompts stored cross-site scripting compromises the Admin UI
