modelcontextprotocol / modelcontextprotocol/conformance

Cover CIMD-only client authorization with no DCR endpoint

Open
#437 1 comment 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

Nobody has claimed this yet.

enhancement
Dominant language
TypeScript
Stars
127
Forks
101
Avg merge
6d 1h
Merged PRs (30d)
7

Description

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.

auth/basic-cimd advertises client_id_metadata_document_supported: true and checks that the client presents the scenario's fixed CIMD URL as its client_id, but it still advertises and serves Dynamic Client Registration. auth/pre-registration removes the advertised endpoint only while supplying static credentials.

The suite therefore does not cover this combination:

  • CIMD supported
  • No registration_endpoint
  • No pre-registered credentials
  • Successful authorization, token exchange, and protected MCP request using the CIMD URL as client_id

Issue #34 was closed before this combination was covered.

At SHA 81eb1c3, createAuthServer.ts:726 mounts POST /register unconditionally. Consequently, disableDynamicRegistration removes registration_endpoint from metadata but does not make registration unavailable.

Runtime proof at SHA 81eb1c3: with disableDynamicRegistration: true, a POST /register returns 201 and records the client-registration check. I can provide the full reproduction on request.

Describe the solution you'd like

Tighten the existing stateful auth/basic-cimd scenario for specification version 2025-11-25 so that:

  • The authorization server advertises CIMD without a registration endpoint.
  • POST /register is unavailable.
  • Any attempted dynamic registration is reported as a conformance failure.
  • The client presents the scenario's fixed CIMD URL as its client_id.
  • The token exchange completes using that client_id.
  • An authenticated MCP call completes with a valid bearer token.

The shared helper correction would also change the pre-registration and WIF scenarios: a misbehaving client that POSTs /register would receive 404 instead of being silently registered. Their intended clients use supplied credentials and remain green.

Describe alternatives you've considered

The alternative is to target the 2026-07-28 stateless path. The bundled runAuthClient() also needs a separate 2026 stateless-lifecycle fix; that broader reference-client change is outside this issue.

Additional context

This gap was found during live interoperability testing of an mcp-sso authorization server over public HTTPS, using real identity-provider grants and protected MCP tool calls. Against the same CIMD-only server configuration, Claude Code 2.1.220 and the ChatGPT connector completed authorization using a URL-shaped client ID, while Codex 0.146.0 and 0.147.0-alpha.1 stopped after authorization-server discovery with Dynamic client registration not supported. The Codex reproduction and request logs are recorded in openai/codex#13200.

That product difference prompted the conformance-suite audit: the existing suite was green because auth/basic-cimd still made DCR available, so it did not exercise the configuration that distinguished these clients.

I propose targeting the existing 2025-11-25 scenario. CIMD-only was already valid there: clients and authorization servers SHOULD support CIMD, DCR is a MAY retained for backwards compatibility, and the client priority order ranks CIMD above DCR.

This covers a valid, previously untested combination without asserting the 2026 DCR deprecation retroactively, and keeps the change to one reviewable unit. Happy to sequence it differently if the maintainers prefer.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start with src/scenarios/client/auth/helpers/createAuthServer.ts around line 726 and the existing stateful auth/basic-cimd scenario for 2025-11-25. Trace how disableDynamicRegistration affects metadata and POST /register, then run the scenario to verify that registration is unavailable while CIMD authorization, token exchange, and the authenticated MCP request complete successfully.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
typescript
Domain
authentication, testing
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
58/100

Get new issues in your inbox

A short digest of beginner-friendly GitHub issues.