feat(connector-mcp): policy-gate declarative stdio transports — default-deny + host allowlist (#3055)

.changeset/adr-0097-stdio-policy-gate.md

@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+---
+'@objectstack/connector-mcp': minor
+---
+
+feat(connector-mcp)!: policy-gate declarative stdio transports — default-deny + host allowlist (#3055)
+
+A declarative `provider: 'mcp'` entry with a stdio transport spawns a local
+child process **from metadata** — which a runtime Studio publish can introduce.
+Declarative stdio is now **denied by default**; hosts opt in deliberately:
+
+```ts
+new ConnectorMcpPlugin({ declarativeStdio: ['my-mcp-server'] }) // command allowlist
+new ConnectorMcpPlugin({ declarativeStdio: true })              // allow any (full trust)
+```
+
+Behavior change: a declarative stdio instance that materialized before now
+fails as a **configuration fault** (fatal at boot / skipped on reload) with an
+actionable opt-in message, and is never classified upstream-unavailable — a
+security rejection must not be retried into existence. `http` transports and
+**hand-wired** connectors (plugin instance options / `createMcpConnector`) are
+unaffected. This is the security precondition for shipping `connector-mcp` in
+default presets (#3056); see ADR-0097 §"Declarative stdio policy" and
+ADR-0024 §4.

docs/adr/0097-declarative-connector-instances.md

@@ -167,6 +167,31 @@ dispatch was rejected: MCP actions ARE the server's `tools/list`, so a
 connector materialized without connecting would register a zero-action def —
 exactly the plausible-but-dead shape this ADR exists to kill.
 
+### Declarative stdio policy: default-deny (follow-up, landed — #3055)
+
+A declarative `provider: 'mcp'` entry may name a **stdio transport**, and
+materializing one **spawns a local child process** — from *metadata*, which a
+runtime Studio publish can introduce (the reload reconcile materializes new
+instances; soft mode skips failures, not successes). Anyone who can publish
+metadata could otherwise execute commands on the server. Stdio on declarative
+instances is therefore **denied by default** and opt-in per host:
+
+```ts
+new ConnectorMcpPlugin({ declarativeStdio: ['my-mcp-server'] })  // allowlist
+new ConnectorMcpPlugin({ declarativeStdio: true })               // full trust
+```
+
+A policy violation is a **configuration fault** — plain throw (fatal at boot,
+skipped on reload), never `CONNECTOR_UPSTREAM_UNAVAILABLE`: a security
+rejection must not be retried into existence. `http` transports are unaffected
+(same trust class as the `http` node), and so are **hand-wired** connectors
+(plugin instance options / `createMcpConnector`) — their command lives in host
+code, a different trust anchor than metadata. The allowlist is deliberately
+honest about being a *coarse* boundary (allowlisting `npx` ≈ allowing any
+package it can run); sandboxed execution remains the enterprise tier
+(ADR-0024 §4). This gate is the precondition for shipping `connector-mcp` in
+any default preset (#3056).
+
 ### Deliberate scope boundaries
 
 - **`providerConfig.spec` (openapi)** accepts an inline document, an http(s) URL, **or a package-relative file path** (#3016 follow-up). The connector still owns no filesystem access: the automation service injects a `loadPackageFile` capability into `ConnectorProviderContext` that resolves the ref against the declaring stack/package root (`packageRoot`, CLI default: the `objectstack.config.ts` directory) and **confines reads to that root** — absolute and `..`-escaping paths are rejected. Read/parse failures follow the reconcile policy above: fatal at boot, skipped on reload.

packages/connectors/connector-mcp/src/connector-mcp-plugin.test.ts

@@ -41,6 +41,9 @@ describe('ConnectorMcpPlugin — end to end with the automation engine', () => {
         kernel.use(new AutomationServicePlugin());
         kernel.use(
             new ConnectorMcpPlugin({
+                // NOTE deliberately no `declarativeStdio`: the #3055 default-deny
+                // policy gates DECLARATIVE instances only — this hand-wired stdio
+                // transport (host code, not metadata) must keep working un-gated.
                 name: 'github_mcp',
                 label: 'GitHub MCP',
                 transport: { kind: 'stdio', command: 'noop' },
@@ -93,4 +96,32 @@ describe('ConnectorMcpPlugin — end to end with the automation engine', () => {
         await kernel.shutdown();
         expect(isClosed()).toBe(true);
     });
+
+    it('plumbs declarativeStdio through to the registered provider factory (#3055)', async () => {
+        const { client } = fakeClient();
+        let registered: ((ctx: unknown) => Promise<unknown>) | undefined;
+        const automationStub = {
+            registerConnector: () => {},
+            unregisterConnector: () => {},
+            registerConnectorProvider: (_key: string, factory: never) => { registered = factory; },
+        };
+        const plugin = new ConnectorMcpPlugin({
+            clientFactory: async () => client,
+            declarativeStdio: ['trusted-mcp'],
+        });
+        await plugin.init({
+            getService: () => automationStub,
+            logger: { info: () => {}, warn: () => {} },
+        } as never);
+        expect(registered).toBeDefined();
+
+        const provider = registered!;
+        const declarativeCtx = (command: string) => ({
+            name: 'x', label: 'X', type: 'api',
+            providerConfig: { transport: { kind: 'stdio', command } },
+        });
+        // Allowlisted command materializes; anything else is denied by policy.
+        await expect(provider(declarativeCtx('trusted-mcp'))).resolves.toBeDefined();
+        await expect(provider(declarativeCtx('bash'))).rejects.toThrow(/declarativeStdio allowlist/);
+    });
 });

packages/connectors/connector-mcp/src/connector-mcp-plugin.ts

@@ -3,7 +3,11 @@
 import type { Plugin, PluginContext } from '@objectstack/core';
 import type { Connector, ConnectorProviderFactory } from '@objectstack/spec/integration';
 import { createMcpConnector, type McpConnectorOptions } from './mcp-connector.js';
-import { createMcpProviderFactory, MCP_PROVIDER_KEY } from './mcp-provider.js';
+import {
+    createMcpProviderFactory,
+    MCP_PROVIDER_KEY,
+    type McpDeclarativeStdioPolicy,
+} from './mcp-provider.js';
 
 /**
  * Minimal surface of the automation engine this plugin depends on — the
@@ -29,7 +33,17 @@ export interface ConnectorRegistrySurface {
  * stack can declare `provider: 'mcp'` instances as pure metadata. Supply a
  * `transport` to ALSO connect one hand-wired MCP server at `start()`.
  */
-export interface ConnectorMcpPluginOptions extends Partial<McpConnectorOptions> {}
+export interface ConnectorMcpPluginOptions extends Partial<McpConnectorOptions> {
+    /**
+     * Policy for stdio transports on **declarative** `provider: 'mcp'`
+     * instances (#3055). Default **deny**: metadata (including a runtime Studio
+     * publish) must not spawn local processes unless the host opts in.
+     * `string[]` allowlists specific commands; `true` allows any. Hand-wired
+     * connectors configured via these plugin options are not subject to it —
+     * their command lives in host code, not metadata.
+     */
+    declarativeStdio?: McpDeclarativeStdioPolicy;
+}
 
 /**
  * ConnectorMcpPlugin — contributes the generic MCP adapter (ADR-0024) in two forms:
@@ -71,7 +85,10 @@ export class ConnectorMcpPlugin implements Plugin {
         if (automation && typeof automation.registerConnectorProvider === 'function') {
             automation.registerConnectorProvider(
                 MCP_PROVIDER_KEY,
-                createMcpProviderFactory({ clientFactory: this.options.clientFactory }),
+                createMcpProviderFactory({
+                    clientFactory: this.options.clientFactory,
+                    declarativeStdio: this.options.declarativeStdio,
+                }),
             );
             ctx.logger.info("ConnectorMcpPlugin: registered 'mcp' connector provider");
         }

packages/connectors/connector-mcp/src/index.ts

@@ -35,4 +35,5 @@ export {
     createMcpProviderFactory,
     MCP_PROVIDER_KEY,
     type McpProviderDeps,
+    type McpDeclarativeStdioPolicy,
 } from './mcp-provider.js';

packages/connectors/connector-mcp/src/mcp-provider.test.ts

@@ -41,7 +41,8 @@ describe('mcp provider factory (ADR-0097)', () => {
 
     it('connects, lists tools, and maps them to actions', async () => {
         const { factory: clientFactory } = fakeClientFactory();
-        const factory = createMcpProviderFactory({ clientFactory });
+        // stdio on a declarative instance requires the host opt-in (#3055).
+        const factory = createMcpProviderFactory({ clientFactory, declarativeStdio: ['my-mcp'] });
         const mat = await factory(ctx({ providerConfig: { transport: { kind: 'stdio', command: 'my-mcp' } } }));
         expect(mat.def.name).toBe('github');
         expect(Object.keys(mat.handlers).sort()).toEqual(['create_issue', 'list_issues']);
@@ -50,7 +51,7 @@ describe('mcp provider factory (ADR-0097)', () => {
 
     it('applies the tool allowlist from providerConfig.include', async () => {
         const { factory: clientFactory } = fakeClientFactory();
-        const factory = createMcpProviderFactory({ clientFactory });
+        const factory = createMcpProviderFactory({ clientFactory, declarativeStdio: ['my-mcp'] });
         const mat = await factory(
             ctx({ providerConfig: { transport: { kind: 'stdio', command: 'my-mcp' }, include: ['create_issue'] } }),
         );
@@ -88,11 +89,12 @@ describe('mcp provider factory (ADR-0097)', () => {
 
 describe('mcp provider fault classification (#3017)', () => {
     const stdio = { transport: { kind: 'stdio', command: 'my-mcp' } };
+    const allowMyMcp = { declarativeStdio: ['my-mcp'] };
 
     it('classifies a connect failure as upstream-unavailable (retryable), keeping the cause', async () => {
         const boom = new Error('connect ECONNREFUSED 127.0.0.1:9999');
         const clientFactory = async (): Promise<McpClientLike> => { throw boom; };
-        const factory = createMcpProviderFactory({ clientFactory });
+        const factory = createMcpProviderFactory({ clientFactory, ...allowMyMcp });
 
         const err = await factory(ctx({ providerConfig: stdio })).then(
             () => { throw new Error('expected rejection'); },
@@ -111,7 +113,7 @@ describe('mcp provider fault classification (#3017)', () => {
             callTool: async () => ({}),
             close: async () => { closed = true; },
         });
-        const factory = createMcpProviderFactory({ clientFactory });
+        const factory = createMcpProviderFactory({ clientFactory, ...allowMyMcp });
 
         const err = await factory(ctx({ providerConfig: stdio })).then(
             () => { throw new Error('expected rejection'); },
@@ -130,3 +132,62 @@ describe('mcp provider fault classification (#3017)', () => {
         expect(isConnectorUpstreamUnavailable(err)).toBe(false);
     });
 });
+
+// ── #3055 — declarative stdio policy: default-deny + host allowlist ─────────
+//
+// A declarative stdio transport spawns a local process from metadata (a Studio
+// publish reaches materialization at runtime), so it is gated OFF unless the
+// host opts in. Violations are CONFIGURATION faults: plain throw (fatal at
+// boot, skipped on reload) — never upstream-unavailable, which would retry a
+// security rejection into existence.
+
+describe('mcp provider declarative stdio policy (#3055)', () => {
+    const stdioCfg = { transport: { kind: 'stdio', command: 'my-mcp' } };
+
+    it('DENIES a declarative stdio transport by default, as a plain (non-retryable) fault', async () => {
+        const { factory: clientFactory, seen } = fakeClientFactory();
+        const factory = createMcpProviderFactory({ clientFactory }); // no policy
+        const err = await factory(ctx({ providerConfig: stdioCfg })).then(
+            () => { throw new Error('expected rejection'); },
+            (e: unknown) => e,
+        );
+        expect((err as Error).message).toMatch(/stdio transports are disabled by default/);
+        expect((err as Error).message).toContain("declarativeStdio: ['my-mcp']"); // actionable opt-in hint
+        expect(isConnectorUpstreamUnavailable(err)).toBe(false);
+        expect(seen.transport).toBeUndefined(); // rejected before any connection attempt
+    });
+
+    it('allowlist admits exactly the listed command and rejects others', async () => {
+        const { factory: clientFactory } = fakeClientFactory();
+        const factory = createMcpProviderFactory({ clientFactory, declarativeStdio: ['npx', 'my-mcp'] });
+        const mat = await factory(ctx({ providerConfig: stdioCfg }));
+        expect(mat.def.name).toBe('github');
+
+        const err = await factory(
+            ctx({ providerConfig: { transport: { kind: 'stdio', command: 'bash' } } }),
+        ).then(
+            () => { throw new Error('expected rejection'); },
+            (e: unknown) => e,
+        );
+        expect((err as Error).message).toMatch(/not in the host's declarativeStdio allowlist \[npx, my-mcp\]/);
+        expect(isConnectorUpstreamUnavailable(err)).toBe(false);
+    });
+
+    it('declarativeStdio: true allows any command (explicit full trust)', async () => {
+        const { factory: clientFactory } = fakeClientFactory();
+        const factory = createMcpProviderFactory({ clientFactory, declarativeStdio: true });
+        const mat = await factory(
+            ctx({ providerConfig: { transport: { kind: 'stdio', command: 'anything' } } }),
+        );
+        expect(Object.keys(mat.handlers).length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+    });
+
+    it('http transports are NOT subject to the policy', async () => {
+        const { factory: clientFactory } = fakeClientFactory();
+        const factory = createMcpProviderFactory({ clientFactory }); // default-deny policy in force
+        const mat = await factory(
+            ctx({ providerConfig: { transport: { kind: 'http', url: 'https://mcp.example.com' } } }),
+        );
+        expect(mat.def.name).toBe('github');
+    });
+});

packages/connectors/connector-mcp/src/mcp-provider.ts

@@ -10,10 +10,34 @@ import { createMcpConnector, type McpConnectorOptions, type McpTransport } from
  */
 export const MCP_PROVIDER_KEY = 'mcp';
 
+/**
+ * Host policy for **declarative** stdio transports (#3055). A stdio transport
+ * launches a local child process, and declarative entries arrive through
+ * metadata — including a runtime Studio publish — so spawning from them is
+ * gated OFF by default:
+ *
+ *  - `undefined` / `false` — deny (default): a `provider: 'mcp'` entry with a
+ *    stdio transport is rejected as a configuration fault.
+ *  - `string[]` — allowlist: the transport's `command` must strictly equal one
+ *    of the listed commands. NOTE this is a coarse trust boundary — listing a
+ *    launcher like `npx` effectively allows any package it can run; list the
+ *    specific server binaries you trust. Sandboxed execution is the enterprise
+ *    tier (ADR-0024 §4).
+ *  - `true` — allow any command (explicit full trust; hosts that treat every
+ *    metadata author as an operator).
+ *
+ * Hand-wired connectors (plugin instance options / `createMcpConnector`) are
+ * NOT subject to this policy: their command was written in host code, a
+ * different trust anchor than metadata.
+ */
+export type McpDeclarativeStdioPolicy = boolean | string[];
+
 /** Injectable dependencies for {@link createMcpProviderFactory} (tests). */
 export interface McpProviderDeps {
   /** Injected MCP client factory; defaults to the SDK-backed client. */
   clientFactory?: McpConnectorOptions['clientFactory'];
+  /** Policy for declarative stdio transports (#3055). Default: deny. */
+  declarativeStdio?: McpDeclarativeStdioPolicy;
 }
 
 /** Shape of `providerConfig` for a `provider: 'mcp'` declarative instance. */
@@ -96,6 +120,35 @@ function normalizeTransport(
   );
 }
 
+/**
+ * Enforce the {@link McpDeclarativeStdioPolicy} for one declarative instance
+ * (#3055). Throws a **plain** Error on violation: a security-policy rejection
+ * is a configuration fault — fatal at boot, skipped+logged on reload — and must
+ * never be classified upstream-unavailable (it cannot be retried into
+ * existence).
+ */
+function assertDeclarativeStdioAllowed(
+  policy: McpDeclarativeStdioPolicy | undefined,
+  command: string,
+  connectorName: string,
+): void {
+  if (policy === true) return;
+  if (Array.isArray(policy)) {
+    if (policy.includes(command)) return;
+    throw new Error(
+      `connector-mcp provider: connector '${connectorName}' declares a stdio transport with command '${command}', ` +
+        `which is not in the host's declarativeStdio allowlist [${policy.join(', ')}]. ` +
+        `Add the command to new ConnectorMcpPlugin({ declarativeStdio: [...] }) if this server is trusted (#3055).`,
+    );
+  }
+  throw new Error(
+    `connector-mcp provider: connector '${connectorName}' declares a stdio transport (command '${command}'), ` +
+      `but declarative stdio transports are disabled by default — a stdio transport launches a local process ` +
+      `from stack metadata (including runtime Studio publishes). If this server is trusted, opt in deliberately: ` +
+      `new ConnectorMcpPlugin({ declarativeStdio: ['${command}'] }) — or use an http transport (#3055, ADR-0024 §4).`,
+  );
+}
+
 /**
  * Build the `mcp` {@link ConnectorProviderFactory} (ADR-0097 / ADR-0024). At boot
  * the automation service invokes it for each `provider: 'mcp'` declarative
@@ -104,6 +157,9 @@ function normalizeTransport(
  * {@link createMcpConnector} builds for a hand-wired MCP connector — one action
  * per tool, dispatched to the server's `tools/call`.
  *
+ * Stdio transports on declarative instances are policy-gated (default deny) —
+ * see {@link McpDeclarativeStdioPolicy} (#3055).
+ *
  * The connection is opened at materialization. Faults are classified (#3017):
  * an invalid transport shape is a *configuration* fault and throws plain —
  * fatal at boot per the ADR-0097 fail-loud contract — while a connect /
@@ -116,6 +172,9 @@ export function createMcpProviderFactory(deps: McpProviderDeps = {}): ConnectorP
   return async (ctx) => {
     const cfg = (ctx.providerConfig ?? {}) as McpProviderConfig;
     const transport = normalizeTransport(cfg.transport, ctx.name, ctx.auth);
+    if (transport.kind === 'stdio') {
+      assertDeclarativeStdioAllowed(deps.declarativeStdio, transport.command, ctx.name);
+    }
     const includeList = Array.isArray(cfg.include)
       ? cfg.include.filter((x): x is string => typeof x === 'string')
       : undefined;