modelcontextprotocol / modelcontextprotocol/java-sdk

McpClientSession/McpServerSession: pending response entries leak when a request times out or is cancelled

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area/client area/server area/transport bug P2
Dominant language
Java
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Description

Bug description

McpClientSession.sendRequest and McpServerSession.sendRequest put an entry into pendingResponses when a request is sent, but only remove it when a response arrives or the send itself fails. If the downstream .timeout(...) fires — or the caller cancels the Mono — no cleanup hook runs, so the entry stays in pendingResponses forever (request IDs are unique per request, so it is never overwritten).

The streamable variant already cleans up after its timeout (McpStreamableServerSession.McpStreamableServerSessionStream.sendRequest calls this.pendingResponses.remove(requestId) in a doOnError after .timeout(requestTimeout)), which suggests the legacy paths missing this is an oversight.

Amplifier

KeepAliveScheduler pings every session periodically via sendRequest(PING, ...). A dead or hung session therefore accumulates one leaked entry per ping interval on both the client and the server side; long-lived sessions grow unboundedly until close().

Suggested fix

Mirror the streamable pattern in both sendRequest methods:

.timeout(this.requestTimeout)
.doOnError(e -> this.pendingResponses.remove(requestId))
.doOnCancel(() -> this.pendingResponses.remove(requestId))
.handle(...)

Removal is idempotent, and the late-response path already tolerates a missing key.

I have the fix plus a regression test (testRequestTimeoutRemovesPendingResponse in McpClientSessionTests, asserting the map is empty after a timeout) ready and will open a PR referencing this issue.

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 McpClientSession.sendRequest and McpServerSession.sendRequest, then compare McpStreamableServerSession.McpStreamableServerSessionStream.sendRequest. Run the named McpClientSessionTests regression test and add equivalent coverage for timeout and cancellation paths; done means pendingResponses is empty after either condition.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
java
Domain
api, backend, testing
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Activity status
Active
Clarity
Clearly specified
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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