mcp-research@0.3.0
CAUTION· not startedPublisher claims: "Web research MCP server: search, fetch, academic, twitter, and compound research tools" Observed in sandbox: no network, touches nothing outside the project, writes no memory.
Coverage
Not started: dependency install failed; the server itself was not observed.- Tested
- the dependency install step · every file read, file written and host contacted by what ran
- Not tested
- server startup · the tool list · tool behavior
What this means for the label: Caution here covers what ran. The server's tools were not exercised with a real credential, so nothing about their behavior is asserted; the credential summary below says what to do with that.
Before you give it your token
- It will ask for
BRAVE_API_KEYMY_TOKENConfiguration, not credentials: MCP_RESEARCH_CACHE_DIR, MCP_RESEARCH_CACHE_MAX_MB, MCP_RESEARCH_CACHE_TTL, MCP_RESEARCH_LOG_DIR, MCP_RESEARCH_MAX_CONCURRENCY, MCP_RESEARCH_MAX_RESULTS, MCP_RESEARCH_SESSION_TTL, MCP_RESEARCH_VAULT_FILE, MCP_RESEARCH_VAULT_HOT_RELOAD, MCP_RESEARCH_WHISPER_DEVICE, MCP_RESEARCH_WHISPER_MODEL, MCP_RESEARCH_YT_CACHE, OLLAMA_MODEL, OLLAMA_URL, OLLAMA_VISION_MODEL- Where it talks to
- no vendor host named in the codeAlso doi.org, arxiv.org, nih.gov, brave.com, duckduckgo.com, x.com, uni.edu, ieee.org — not the publisher's domain; check what for before connecting.
- What the honeypot saw
- no credential files read · no network
- What we could not test
- server startup · the tool list · tool behavior
Connect it with a scoped credential, under the guard, and read the third-party hosts first. The code names doi.org, arxiv.org, nih.gov, brave.com, duckduckgo.com, x.com, uni.edu, ieee.org as well as its own vendor. The guard injects BRAVE_API_KEY, MY_TOKEN only into requests to the host you bind (and its subdomains) and refuses the rest.
Never paste a credential into a chat, a ticket or a report, including ours. How the guard holds it.
Is [email protected] safe to install?
KillerSkills ran it in the KillerSkills honeypot sandbox (2 scenarios; not started: dependency install failed; the server itself was not observed) on 2026-11-08 and scored it 79/100 (Caution). It is not known to be malicious, but it has behaviour or code a security policy should decide on before install. Notable findings: Auto-update or dynamic fetch configuration; Access to sensitive file paths. Summary: no network, touches nothing outside the project, writes no memory.
Behavior trace
Honeypot run · 0 s · 2 scenarios · 0 deviationsStatic findings
subprocess.run(Fix: Build commands from fixed arguments, never from interpolated strings; prefer an API client over shelling out.mock_resp.headers = {"Location": "http://169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data"}Fix: Stop enumerating or reading credential locations; take secrets from a declared environment variable the user sets on purpose.("http://10.0.0.1/", "private 10.x"),Fix: Replace encoded or assembled strings with plain literals and remove undeclared network calls.("http://172.16.0.1/", "private 172.16.x"),Fix: Replace encoded or assembled strings with plain literals and remove undeclared network calls.VAULT_HOT_RELOAD = os.environ.get("MCP_RESEARCH_VAULT_HOT_RELOAD", "true").lower() == "true"Fix: Pin versions and sources; vendor anything fetched at install time.proc = subprocess.run(Fix: Build commands from fixed arguments, never from interpolated strings; prefer an API client over shelling out.subprocess.run(Fix: Build commands from fixed arguments, never from interpolated strings; prefer an API client over shelling out.subprocess.run(Fix: Build commands from fixed arguments, never from interpolated strings; prefer an API client over shelling out.("file:///etc/passwd", "file scheme"),Fix: Stop enumerating or reading credential locations; take secrets from a declared environment variable the user sets on purpose.meta_proc = subprocess.run(Fix: Build commands from fixed arguments, never from interpolated strings; prefer an API client over shelling out.("http://192.168.1.1/", "private 192.168.x"),Fix: Replace encoded or assembled strings with plain literals and remove undeclared network calls.".sql", ".graphql", ".toml", ".ini", ".cfg", ".conf", ".env", ".nk",Fix: Stop enumerating or reading credential locations; take secrets from a declared environment variable the user sets on purpose.Cost to the agent
Tokens estimated at four characters each. The tool list is re-read by the agent on every turn, so it is the number to compare between servers that do the same job: ranked across the index.
Known vulnerabilities
No advisories in OSV for mcp-research@0.3.0 as of 6d ago. This is the package itself, not its dependencies.
What would make this Verified
1 point to 80 · weights: behavior 45%, static 25%, prompt 15%, publisher 15%- Unclaimed publisher≈ +8 on the totalClaim mabaam: a verified publisher gets +50 on publisher trust. It is free and usually instant with GitHub sign-in.
- Auto-update or dynamic fetch configuration≈ +4 on the totalPin versions and sources; vendor anything fetched at install time.
- Python subprocess execution detected≈ +2 on the totalBuild commands from fixed arguments, never from interpolated strings; prefer an API client over shelling out.
- URL to the cloud instance metadata address≈ +2 on the totalStop enumerating or reading credential locations; take secrets from a declared environment variable the user sets on purpose.
- Access to sensitive file paths≈ +2 on the totalStop enumerating or reading credential locations; take secrets from a declared environment variable the user sets on purpose.
- URL to a private-network address≈ +1 on the totalReplace encoded or assembled strings with plain literals and remove undeclared network calls.