Model Context Protocol security focuses on permission management

The Model Context Protocol (MCP), which facilitates interaction between AI agents and external data, has become critical infrastructure following rapid adoption by major companies like Microsoft, Google, and OpenAI. While the protocol is maintained by the Linux Foundation, security experts have identified that vulnerabilities often stem from the permission layers beneath the infrastructure rather than the protocol itself.

A 2026 SANS Identity Threats Survey revealed that 76 percent of businesses have seen an increase in non-human identities, and 74 percent use AI systems relying on standing credentials. Security gaps often arise when personal access tokens or permissions are scoped too broadly. For example, a 2025 prompt injection attack on a GitHub MCP server successfully accessed private data because the underlying token had excessive permissions.

To mitigate these risks, developers are moving toward architectural designs that limit the access surface. This includes implementing read-only tools and strictly defining the boundaries between the AI host, the MCP server, and the domain system to ensure that servers do not act as autonomous agents with unrestricted access.