Summary
MCP Python SDK: WebSocket server transport does not support Host/Origin validation
In affected versions, the deprecated WebSocket server transport (mcp.server.websocket.websocket_server) accepted the WebSocket handshake without applying any Host or Origin header validation. The TransportSecuritySettings mechanism that the SSE and Streamable HTTP transports use for this purpose was not wired into the WebSocket transport, so there was no SDK-level way to restrict which origins could connect.
Am I affected?
Only if a developer's application server exposes mcp.server.websocket.websocket_server. This transport has never been part of the MCP specification, is marked deprecated, and is not reachable through FastMCP, a developer must have wired it into an ASGI application themselves. Servers using stdio, SSE, or Streamable HTTP are not affected by this advisory.
Details
websocket_server() constructed a Starlette WebSocket and called accept(subprotocol="mcp") immediately, with no inspection of the connection's headers. By contrast, SseServerTransport and StreamableHTTPServerTransport accept an optional security_settings: TransportSecuritySettings and run TransportSecurityMiddleware.validate_request() against the incoming Host and Origin headers before establishing a session. Because browsers attach an Origin header to cross-origin WebSocket upgrade requests but do not enforce a same-origin policy on the response, a web page served from any origin could open a WebSocket to a reachable MCP server on this transport, complete the initialize handshake, and issue JSON-RPC requests on the resulting session.
Mitigation
Upgrade to version 1.28.1 or later, in which websocket_server() accepts the same optional security_settings: TransportSecuritySettings argument as the other HTTP-based transports and validates the Host and Origin headers before accepting the handshake; a request that fails validation is rejected with HTTP 403 and ValueError("Request validation failed") is raised to the caller. As with the other transports the parameter defaults to None, which leaves validation disabled, so upgrading alone does not change behaviour: pass a TransportSecuritySettings with enable_dns_rebinding_protection=True and appropriate allowed_hosts / allowed_origins to receive the protection. The recommended path remains to migrate off this deprecated transport to Streamable HTTP, where FastMCP enables this protection automatically for localhost binds. The WebSocket transport has been removed entirely in v2.
Impact
A user who runs an MCP server on this transport bound to localhost or a LAN address, without a separate authentication or origin gate in front of it, and visits a malicious web page, can have that page enumerate and invoke the server's tools and read its resources. The consequences depend entirely on what the server exposes. The transport itself requires no token or prior session. Some browsers prompt before allowing a public page to open a connection to a local-network address, which adds a user-interaction step but is not a substitute for server-side validation.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2026-59950? CVE-2026-59950 is a high-severity security vulnerability in mcp (pip), affecting versions < 1.28.1. It is fixed in 1.28.1.
- Which versions of mcp are affected by CVE-2026-59950? mcp (pip) versions < 1.28.1 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2026-59950? Yes. CVE-2026-59950 is fixed in 1.28.1. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2026-59950 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-59950 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2026-59950 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
- How do I fix CVE-2026-59950? Upgrade
mcpto 1.28.1 or later.