io.github.cyanheads/openalex-mcp-server

What we checked

Six static checks, weighted by risk. Every result reflects only what could be observed in the published package and repository — never intent.

• Injection surface

  warn25% of grade

  Tool descriptions/manifest scanned for instruction-injection patterns (imperatives at the model, hidden text, 'ignore previous', data-exfil URLs).

  tool "openalex_resolve_name" param "query" description: off-vendor URL in a description (ror.org); capability text should not name where data goes. tool "openalex_resolve_name" param "query" description: off-vendor URL in a description (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov); capability text should not name where data goes. tool "openalex_search_entities" param "id" description: off-vendor URL in a description (ror.org); capability text should not name where data goes. tool "openalex_search_entities" param "id" description: off-vendor URL in a description (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov); capability text should not name where data goes. tool "openalex_get_citation_graph" param "seed_id" description: off-vendor URL in a description (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov); capability text should not name where data goes.

• Supply chain

  pass25% of grade

  Package provenance: namespace verification, repo linkage, maintainer count, account age, postinstall scripts, typosquat distance.

  repository linkage verified

• Credential hygiene

  pass15% of grade

  How the server takes secrets (env vs plaintext config vs hardcoded); secrets appearing in tool schemas.

  No hardcoded secrets, secret-shaped tool parameters, or leaked keys found. PASS = no static red flag; static analysis cannot prove the code honors env-based secret handling at runtime.

• Permission scope

  pass15% of grade

  Declared tools vs. breadth (filesystem, network, exec); flags shell-exec and unbounded filesystem access.

  No shell-exec, unbounded/sensitive filesystem, or download-and-run primitives found in scanned source. PASS = no static red flag. Static scanning is blind to code fetched or executed at runtime.

• Version behavior

  fail10% of grade

  Diff of tool definitions between versions; new permissions or changed descriptions in a patch release (the postmark-mcp class).

  vs prior 0.7.10 (patch bump): tool "openalex_resolve_name" description changed (wording only, no injection pattern); tool "openalex_describe_fields" description changed (wording only, no injection pattern); new hardcoded outbound host/BCC destination(s): api.openalex.org, caseyjhand.com, github.com, mcp.example.com, openalex.org, www.buymeacoffee.com.

• Transport config

  fail10% of grade

  Remote servers: TLS and auth mode (none/token/OAuth). Local servers: whether the manifest indicates it phones home.

  remote MCP endpoint declares NO authentication (unauthenticated remote — nginx-ui/CVE-2026-33032 class); manifest/source references Telemetry behavior — disclosure