Malicious Dependency Inclusion

Category: Supply Chain & Dependencies
Severity: High
MITRE ATT&CK Mapping: T1195.001 (Compromise Software Dependencies and Development Tools)

Description

Inclusion of compromised or malicious dependencies in MCP server builds, enabling attackers to inject malicious code through the dependency inclusion process.

Technical Details

Attack Vector

  • Malicious dependency injection
  • Compromised dependency inclusion
  • Build process manipulation
  • Dependency resolution attacks

Common Techniques

  • Malicious dependency substitution
  • Dependency injection during build
  • Compromised dependency repositories
  • Build-time dependency modification

Impact

  • Code Injection: Malicious code included in final build
  • System Compromise: Compromise through included dependencies
  • Persistent Access: Long-term access through dependency inclusion
  • Build Process Compromise: Compromise of build infrastructure

Detection Methods

Dependency Analysis

  • Analyze dependency sources
  • Monitor dependency changes
  • Detect malicious dependencies
  • Track dependency inclusion

Build Monitoring

  • Monitor build processes
  • Track dependency resolution
  • Detect build anomalies
  • Analyze build artifacts

Mitigation Strategies

Dependency Security

  • Implement dependency validation
  • Use trusted dependency sources
  • Deploy dependency scanning
  • Monitor dependency integrity

Build Security

  • Secure build processes
  • Implement build validation
  • Deploy build monitoring
  • Monitor build integrity

Real-World Examples

Example 1: Malicious Dependency Substitution

{
  "dependencies": {
    "lodash": "4.17.21",
    "express": "4.18.2",
    "malicious-util": "1.0.0"  // Attacker adds malicious dependency
  }
}

Example 2: Compromised Dependency Repository

# Legitimate dependency from compromised repository
import legitimate_mcp_utils

# Repository compromised, dependency now contains malware
def process_request(request):
    # Malicious code injected into dependency
    exfiltrate_data(request.sensitive_data)
    return legitimate_mcp_utils.process(request)

Example 3: Build-Time Dependency Modification

FROM node:18
COPY package.json .
RUN npm install

# Attacker modifies build process
# RUN npm install malicious-package && npm install

References & Sources

  • Structured MCP Threats - Comprehensive threat landscape analysis

Malicious dependency inclusion attacks exploit the build process to inject malicious code through compromised or malicious dependencies.