CVE-2026-49257 CrowdStrike LogScale · LogScale

Detect CVE-2026-49257: mcp-pinot Unauthenticated Tool Invocation via Default oauth_enabled=False in CrowdStrike LogScale

Detects exploitation of CVE-2026-49257, a critical authentication bypass in mcp-pinot-server (<=3.0.1). The server defaults to oauth_enabled=False and binds to 0.0.0.0, allowing any network-adjacent or internet-facing attacker to invoke MCP tools without authentication. CVSS 10.0 with public PoC available.

MITRE ATT&CK

Tactic
Initial Access Privilege Escalation Exfiltration

LogScale Detection Query

CrowdStrike LogScale (LogScale)
cql 
#event_simpleName=NetworkConnectIP4 OR #event_simpleName=ProcessRollup2
| filter (
    ImageFileName = /python/i OR
    CommandLine = /mcp.?pinot/i OR
    CommandLine = /uvicorn/i
  )
| filter LocalPort in (8000, 8080, 8443, 9000, 3000)
| filter RemoteAddressIP4 != "127.0.0.1"
| join {
    #event_simpleName=NetworkReceiveAcceptIP4
    | filter HttpUri = /\/(tools|invoke|call)\//i
    | filter not HttpRequestHeaders = /Authorization:/i
  } [LocalPort, RemoteAddressIP4]
| stats count() AS unauthenticated_connections, values(HttpUri) AS uris BY ComputerName, RemoteAddressIP4, LocalPort
| sort -unauthenticated_connections
critical severity low confidence

CrowdStrike Falcon LogScale query correlating Python/mcp-pinot process activity with inbound network connections to MCP ports where HTTP requests lack Authorization headers, indicative of CVE-2026-49257 exploitation.

Data Sources

CrowdStrike Falcon EndpointCrowdStrike Network Detection

Required Tables

NetworkConnectIP4ProcessRollup2NetworkReceiveAcceptIP4

False Positives & Tuning

  • Internal EDR-managed hosts communicating without auth on trusted segments
  • Falcon sensor telemetry gaps where HTTP header details are not captured
  • Legitimate internal tooling calling mcp-pinot without tokens on secured networks
  • Test endpoints in development environments with auth disabled

Other platforms for CVE-2026-49257

Microsoft Sentinel (KQL) Splunk (SPL) Elastic Security (Elastic) IBM QRadar (QRadar) Sumo Logic CSE (Sumo) Google Chronicle (YARA-L) All platforms (combined) →

Testing Methodology

Validate this detection against 4 adversary techniques from Atomic Red Team. Each test below lists the behaviour to exercise and the telemetry you should expect to see. Executable commands and cleanup steps are available with Pro.

  1. Test 1Verify Unauthenticated MCP Tool Listing

    Expected signal: HTTP 200 response with JSON list of available Pinot MCP tools returned without any authentication challenge; no 401 or 403 status code issued.

  2. Test 2Unauthenticated Pinot Query Execution via MCP Tool

    Expected signal: Pinot query execution log entry showing query 'SELECT * FROM myTable LIMIT 10' from MCP server without session token; HTTP 200 from mcp-pinot-server with query results in response body.

  3. Test 3External Network Exploitation Simulation

    Expected signal: Inbound TCP connection from external IP to port 8000; HTTP POST to /tools/list and /tools/call with source IP from outside trusted ranges; no TLS client certificate or Authorization header present.

  4. Test 4Confirm Vulnerable Package Version in Environment

    Expected signal: Command execution events showing pip, find, and ps commands with mcp-pinot arguments; output revealing package version <= 3.0.1 and running process details.

Last updated: 2026-06-27 Research depth: standard
References (6)

Unlock Pro Content

Get the full detection package for CVE-2026-49257 including response playbook, investigation guide, and atomic red team tests.

Response PlaybookInvestigation GuideHunting QueriesAtomic Red Team TestsTuning Guidance
Sign Up for Pro View Pricing

Related Detections

Tactic Hubs

TA0001Initial AccessTA0004Privilege EscalationTA0010Exfiltration

Related Techniques

T1190Exploit Public-Facing ApplicationT1059.006PythonT1041Exfiltration Over C2 Channel

Same Tactic: Initial Access

Popular Detections