Answer in brief
CVE-2026-53709 records a Critical severity (CVSS 9.8) vulnerability in MCP Context Forge: Hardcoded default JWT_SECRET_KEY shipped in source and .env.example enables pre-authentication platform admin token forgery. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. The current feed maps IBM/mcp-context-forge (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.
Analysis pending evidence review
HOL Guard separates source facts from reviewed analysis. See the methodology.
CVSS is 9.8. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. Treat this as a source-backed prioritization signal, not a statement about your environment.
Analysis status
Analysis pending evidence review
Factual feed record only; HOL analysis is not approved for indexing. Read the methodology.
The current feed maps IBM/mcp-context-forge (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.
| Package | Affected range | Fixed version |
|---|---|---|
| IBM/mcp-context-forgegeneric | <1.0.2 | 1.0.2 |
Published upstream
Oct 13, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:recordSource modified
Oct 13, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:recordFirst seen by HOL
Oct 13, 2026
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.
Quoted source text, attributed separately from HOL analysis.