Is AnkiMCP Server safe?
- Python shell/command execution
- MCP server launches a host command
- Python network egress
What to do: Nothing here argues against installing it. Grant the capabilities it lists only if you expect the tool to need them.
AnkiMCP Server is an MCP server analyzed by SkillTotal's deterministic static scanner. The scan found no malicious indicators. It can: delegated authentication, filesystem read, filesystem write, mcp tools detected, network egress and shell execution — capabilities are what the code can do, not a verdict on intent. Risk score 0/100 (low).
anki-mcp-server-addon
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Automated static-analysis result. It can contain false positives and false negatives, and is not a claim about the intent of AnkiMCP Server's authors. Report a false positive.
Behavioral traits
How this component maps to the CSA agentic threat model. Descriptive — it never affects the risk score.
Findings (7)
An MCP server entry launches a command on your host.
"command": "npx",
Why it matters: Trusting the manifest means running that binary — verify what it is and where it comes from.
Fix: Verify the launched command and its source before trusting this MCP server configuration.
The component can run operating-system commands or spawn processes.
subprocess.run([opener, str(path)], check=False)
Why it matters: Powerful and often legitimate — confirm the commands aren't built from untrusted input.
Fix: Confirm the command and its arguments are fully controlled and not derived from untrusted input; avoid shell=True.
The component reads files from disk.
data = json.loads(path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
source = path.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
merged.update(json.loads(config_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8")))
meta = json.loads(meta_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
raw = self.CREDENTIALS_PATH.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
for line in version_file.read_text().splitlines():
with open(ext_path, "rb") as fh:
cached_version = version_file.read_text().strip() if version_file.exists() else None
cached_version = version_file.read_text().strip() if version_file.exists() else None
_CONTENT = _CONTENT_FILE.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
return resolved.read_bytes(), "file"
fragment = DESCRIPTION.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
template = TEMPLATE.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
Why it matters: Usually legitimate, but worth confirming it can't be steered into reading sensitive files.
Fix: Confirm which files are read and that paths cannot be influenced by untrusted input to reach sensitive locations.
The component writes or deletes files on disk.
with open(github_output, "a", encoding="utf-8") as handle:
with open(github_output, "a", encoding="utf-8") as handle:
tmp_path.write_text(content, encoding="utf-8")
probe.write_text("")shutil.rmtree(CACHE_DIR, ignore_errors=True)
shutil.copy(pyd_file, simple_path)
shutil.rmtree(old_dir, ignore_errors=True)
shutil.rmtree(old_dir, ignore_errors=True)
shutil.rmtree(sibling, ignore_errors=True)
with open(wheel_path, "wb") as fh:
shutil.rmtree(temp_dir, ignore_errors=True)
shutil.rmtree(temp_dir, ignore_errors=True)
version_file.write_text(expected_version)
shutil.rmtree(cache_dir, ignore_errors=True)
shutil.rmtree(cache_dir, ignore_errors=True)
shutil.rmtree(cache_dir, ignore_errors=True)
shutil.rmtree(path, ignore_errors=True)
OUTPUT.write_text(page, encoding="utf-8")
Why it matters: Usually legitimate, but worth confirming the paths can't be controlled by untrusted input.
Fix: Confirm which files are written/deleted and that paths cannot be influenced by untrusted input.
The component makes outbound network requests.
import urllib.request
f"{REGISTRY_BASE}/servers/{urllib.parse.quote(name, safe='')}"f"/versions/{urllib.parse.quote(version, safe='')}"request = urllib.request.Request(
url, headers={"Accept": "application/json", "User-Agent": USER_AGENT}
)with urllib.request.urlopen(request, timeout=REQUEST_TIMEOUT) as response:
import urllib.request
with urllib.request.urlopen(pypi_url, timeout=_NETWORK_TIMEOUT_SECONDS) as response:
raise urllib.error.ContentTooShortError(
f"length mismatch: got {received} bytes, expected {expected_length}",
None,
)with urllib.request.urlopen(wheel_url, timeout=_NETWORK_TIMEOUT_SECONDS) as response:
raise urllib.error.ContentTooShortError(
f"length mismatch: got {downloaded} bytes, expected {total_size}",
None,
)import urllib.request
import httpx
async with httpx.AsyncClient(timeout=_HTTP_TIMEOUT) as client:
Why it matters: Usually legitimate, but confirm the destinations are expected and no sensitive data leaves.
Fix: Confirm the destination hosts are expected and that no sensitive data is sent off-host.
An OAuth 2.0 / OpenID Connect delegated-authentication flow was detected (authorization-code / refresh-token / token-exchange grant, an OIDC authorize/discovery endpoint or id_token, or a delegation library). Tools authenticate with the end user's delegated, scoped credentials rather than a long-lived embedded service credential.
"grant_type": "refresh_token",
Fix: Delegated auth is a lower-blast-radius execution context than an embedded static credential. Confirm the requested scopes are minimal and that tokens are never logged or forwarded off-host.
An MCP tool surface (manifest or tool definitions) was found.
"mcpServers": {mcp = FastMCP(
Why it matters: Just context — review which tools it offers and their permissions.
Fix: Review the declared MCP tools and their permissions.
How attackers abuse these capabilities
Interactive labs on the attack class behind the rules above. They show the technique, not anything found in AnkiMCP Server.
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