modelcontextprotocol / modelcontextprotocol/python-sdk
FastMCP tool argument models silently ignore unknown/misspelled arguments (extra=ignore default)
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Description
Description
mcp.server.fastmcp.utilities.func_metadata.ArgModelBase does not set extra in its
model_config, so it inherits Pydantic v2's default, extra="ignore":
class ArgModelBase(BaseModel):
"""A model representing the arguments to a function."""
...
model_config = ConfigDict(
arbitrary_types_allowed=True,
)
Every per-tool *Arguments model that FastMCP generates via create_model(..., __base__=ArgModelBase, ...)
inherits this. As a result, when a client calls a tool with an argument name that doesn't
exist on the function (a typo, or a hallucinated parameter name from an LLM), Pydantic
silently drops it instead of raising a validation error. The tool then runs with that
parameter at its default value, and returns a "successful" but semantically wrong result —
with no signal anywhere that anything was off.
Reproduction
from mcp.server.fastmcp import FastMCP
mcp = FastMCP("repro")
@mcp.tool()
def read_doc(topic: str = "") -> str:
return f"topic={topic!r}"
# Simulate what happens when a client calls with the wrong argument name:
tool = mcp._tool_manager.get_tool("read_doc")
result = tool.fn_metadata.arg_model.model_validate({"path": "something"})
print(result.model_dump_one_level())
# {'topic': ''} <- no error, no signal that "path" was bogus
Expected behavior
An unknown argument in a tools/call request should fail validation immediately with a
clear error (e.g. Pydantic's own "Extra inputs are not permitted"), the same way a missing
required argument already does. This is especially important for MCP given the primary
caller is frequently an LLM: a wrong parameter name is a common, plausible failure mode, and
a loud, immediate error is far more useful (and self-correcting for the model) than a
silently-wrong "successful" response.
Suggested fix
Set extra="forbid" on ArgModelBase.model_config:
model_config = ConfigDict(
arbitrary_types_allowed=True,
extra="forbid",
)
This should be safe: the fields validated by ArgModelBase subclasses are exactly the
arguments dict of a tools/call request (i.e. exactly what's declared in the tool's
inputSchema). Protocol-level fields (_meta, progressToken, etc.) live on the
surrounding params object, not inside arguments, and Context is injected separately
via arguments_to_pass_directly — neither passes through ArgModelBase. The side effect is
that model_json_schema() will now emit "additionalProperties": false on the published
inputSchema, which seems like a feature, not a regression (it lets clients that validate
against the schema catch this class of error before the round-trip).
Scope checked
- Confirmed present in
mcp1.27.2 and 1.28.1 (latest on PyPI as of 2026-07). - Confirmed still present on
main(the in-progress v2, wherefastmcpis being renamed to
mcpserver):src/mcp/server/mcpserver/utilities/func_metadata.pyhas the same
ArgModelBasewithoutextraset. - I didn't find an existing issue about this specific behavior (searched for "extra fields",
"forbid", "unknown argument", "additionalProperties", "silently ignored"). - For context: the TypeScript SDK has an equivalent gap for a different underlying reason
(Zod's defaultstripbehavior on unknown object keys) — see
https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/typescript-sdk/issues/147
Happy to open a PR with the one-line change plus a regression test if that's useful.
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start at src/mcp/server/mcpserver/utilities/func_metadata.py and inspect ArgModelBase.model_config and the generated arg_model validation path. Add a regression test using the read_doc-style unknown-argument case, then run the relevant FastMCP tests; done means unknown tool arguments raise validation errors and the published schema rejects additional properties.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- python
- Domain
- api, backend-api-design
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 2/5
- Estimated time
- 1-3 hours
- Activity status
- Quiet
- Clarity
- Clearly specified
- Newbie friendliness
- 76/100