IBM ContextForge MCP Gateway is affected by credential disclosure and privilege escalation via jq filter execution
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-18486 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | ibm |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-09-04 17:16:56 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-09-10 16:17:08 UTC |
| Description | IBM ContextForge MCP Gateway <= v1.0.7 MCP Context Forge could allow a remote authenticated attacker to obtain sensitive credentials and escalate privileges due to improper validation of jq filters. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v3.1 8.8 HIGH from [email protected]
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS: 0.003180000 probability, percentile 0.244610000 (date 2026-09-10)
Problem Types: CWE-200 | CWE-200 CWE-200 Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | [email protected] | Secondary | 8.8 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| 3.1 | CNA | CVSS | 8.8 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
CVSS v3.1 Breakdown
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Vendor Declared Affected Products
| Source | Vendor | Product | Version | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | IBM | ContextForge MCP Gateway | affected <= v1.0.7 | Not specified |
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7286052 | [email protected] | www.ibm.com | |
| CVE Program record | CVE.ORG | www.cve.org | canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail | NVD | nvd.nist.gov | canonical, analysis |
Additional Advisory Data
Solutions
CNA: IBM strongly recommends addressing the vulnerability now. Product(s)Version(s) number and/or range Remediation/Fix/InstructionsIBM ContextForge MCP Gateway<=v1.0.7Upgrade to v1.0.8. See [release notes]( https://github.com/IBM/mcp-context-forge/releases/tag/v1.0.8) https://github.com/IBM/mcp-context-forge/releases/tag/v1.0.8%29 . Rotate `JWT_SECRET_KEY`, `AUTH_ENCRYPTION_SECRET`, `DATABASE_URL`, `REDIS_URL`, and `BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD` on any deployment running prior versions. Note: From version v1.0.8 on a more complex AUTH_ENCRYPTION_SECRET is required: Action required before upgrading: run the one-shot re-encryption script (mcpgateway/scripts/migrate_enc_secret.py) with the old and new keys while the gateway is stopped. See the full rotation guide at docs/docs/operations/auth-encryption-secret-rotation.md https://github.com/IBM/mcp-context-forge/blob/v1.0.8/docs/docs/operations/auth-encryption-secret-rotation.md for step-by-step instructions, deployment-specific commands, and special cases (Helm/Kubernetes, Python package consumers, rollback).
Workarounds
CNA: None. IBM strongly recommends upgrading to the fixed version and rotating server credentials.