Java Security Vulnerability Scanner - MCP Server

Project Purpose

This project is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server implementation built with Quarkus that provides security vulnerability information and best practices for Java development. It demonstrates how to create a practical, domain-specific MCP server that can extend AI assistants like IBM Bob with actionable security intelligence.

Instead of returning simple data, this server provides real-world value by helping developers:

• 🔍 Identify common Java security vulnerabilities
• 📚 Learn about OWASP Top 10 security risks
• ✅ Get remediation steps with code examples
• 🛡️ Follow security best practices

📖 Want to understand more about MCP endpoint? See the MCP Endpoint Explanation for a detailed breakdown of the URL structure and transport mechanism.

🚀 Available MCP Tools

The MCP server exposes the following security-focused tools:

1. listVulnerabilities

Get a complete list of all detectable Java security vulnerabilities.

Parameters: None

Returns: List of vulnerabilities with:

• Vulnerability names
• Severity levels (CRITICAL, HIGH, MEDIUM, LOW)
• OWASP classifications
• Vulnerability IDs

Example usage in Bob:

"List all Java security vulnerabilities"
"What vulnerabilities can you detect?"

2. getVulnerabilityDetails

Get comprehensive information about a specific vulnerability including remediation steps.

Parameters:

• vulnerabilityId (required): The vulnerability ID (e.g., "SQL_INJECTION", "HARDCODED_CREDENTIALS")

Returns: Detailed information including:

• Full description
• Severity and category
• OWASP and CWE classifications
• Code examples showing the vulnerability
• Detailed remediation steps with secure code examples

Example usage in Bob:

"Get details about SQL_INJECTION vulnerability"
"Tell me about HARDCODED_CREDENTIALS security issue"
"How do I fix XSS_VULNERABILITY?"

3. getOwaspTop10

Get information about the OWASP Top 10 - 2021 security risks.

Parameters: None

Returns: Complete OWASP Top 10 list with:

• Risk descriptions
• Impact explanations
• Prevention strategies

Example usage in Bob:

"Show me the OWASP Top 10"
"What are the top security risks according to OWASP?"

4. searchBySeverity

Find vulnerabilities filtered by severity level.

Parameters:

• severity (required): CRITICAL, HIGH, MEDIUM, or LOW

Returns: Filtered list of vulnerabilities matching the severity level with descriptions.

Example usage in Bob:

"Show me all CRITICAL severity vulnerabilities"
"Find HIGH severity security issues"
"What are the MEDIUM severity risks?"

5. getSecurityBestPractices

Get comprehensive security best practices for Java development.

Parameters: None

Returns: Detailed guidelines covering:

• Input validation
• Authentication & authorization
• Data protection
• Secure coding principles
• Dependency management
• Logging & monitoring
• Code review & testing
• Configuration security

Example usage in Bob:

"What are Java security best practices?"
"Give me security recommendations for Java"
"How should I secure my Java application?"

📊 Vulnerability Database

The server includes information about these critical vulnerabilities:

Each vulnerability includes:

• ✅ Detailed description
• ✅ Severity classification
• ✅ OWASP Top 10 mapping
• ✅ CWE reference
• ✅ Remediation steps with code examples

🤖 Connecting to IBM Bob

Add this configuration to ~/.bob/settings/mcp_settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "java-security-scanner": {
      "url": "http://localhost:8080/mcp/sse",
      "alwaysAllow": []
    }
  }
}

Restart Bob, and you can now ask security-related questions!

💡 Real-World Use Cases

Use Case 1: Code Review Assistant

Developer: "What should I look for regarding SQL injection?"
Bob: [Calls getVulnerabilityDetails("SQL_INJECTION")]
Bob: "SQL injection occurs when untrusted data is sent to an interpreter... 
      Use PreparedStatement with parameterized queries..."

Use Case 2: Learning Security

Developer: "Explain the OWASP Top 10 to me"
Bob: [Calls getOwaspTop10()]
Bob: "Here are the OWASP Top 10 - 2021 security risks:
      A01:2021 - Broken Access Control..."

Use Case 3: Security Audit

Developer: "Show me all CRITICAL vulnerabilities I should fix first"
Bob: [Calls searchBySeverity("CRITICAL")]
Bob: "Here are the CRITICAL severity vulnerabilities:
      • SQL Injection - SQL injection occurs when...
      • Hardcoded Credentials - Hardcoded passwords..."

About Quarkus

This project uses Quarkus, the Supersonic Subatomic Java Framework.

If you want to learn more about Quarkus, please visit its website: https://quarkus.io/.

Running the application in dev mode

You can run your application in dev mode that enables live coding using:

./gradlew quarkusDev

The MCP server will be available at:

• SSE Endpoint: http://localhost:8080/mcp/sse
• Dev UI: http://localhost:8080/q/dev/

NOTE: Quarkus now ships with a Dev UI, which is available in dev mode only at http://localhost:8080/q/dev/.

Testing the MCP Server

Test with cURL

# Connect to SSE endpoint
curl -N http://localhost:8080/mcp/sse

# You'll get a session ID, then you can call tools:
curl -X POST http://localhost:8080/mcp/messages/{SESSION_ID} \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "tools/call",
    "params": {
      "name": "listVulnerabilities",
      "arguments": {}
    },
    "id": 1
  }'

Test with Bob

Once configured in Bob's MCP settings, simply ask:

• "List all security vulnerabilities"
• "What are critical Java security issues?"
• "Show me the OWASP Top 10"

Packaging and running the application

The application can be packaged using:

./gradlew build

It produces the quarkus-run.jar file in the build/quarkus-app/ directory. Be aware that it's not an über-jar as the dependencies are copied into the build/quarkus-app/lib/ directory.

The application is now runnable using java -jar build/quarkus-app/quarkus-run.jar.

If you want to build an über-jar, execute the following command:

./gradlew build -Dquarkus.package.jar.type=uber-jar

The application, packaged as an über-jar, is now runnable using java -jar build/*-runner.jar.

Creating a native executable

You can create a native executable using:

./gradlew build -Dquarkus.native.enabled=true

Or, if you don't have GraalVM installed, you can run the native executable build in a container using:

./gradlew build -Dquarkus.native.enabled=true -Dquarkus.native.container-build=true

You can then execute your native executable with: ./build/test-mcp-server-quarkus-1.0.0-SNAPSHOT-runner

If you want to learn more about building native executables, please consult https://quarkus.io/guides/gradle-tooling.

🔄 Extending the Server

Add More Vulnerabilities

Edit src/main/resources/vulnerabilities.json and add new entries:

{
  "id": "NEW_VULNERABILITY",
  "name": "New Vulnerability Name",
  "severity": "HIGH",
  "category": "Category",
  "owasp": "A0X:2021 - Category",
  "description": "Description here",
  "remediation": "How to fix it",
  "cwe": "CWE-XXX"
}

Add New Tools

Create new methods in SecurityScannerTool.java:

@Tool(description = "Your new tool description")
public String yourNewTool(
    @ToolArg(description = "Parameter description", required = true) 
    String parameter) {
    // Your implementation
}

📚 Project Structure

src/
├── main/
│   ├── java/org/acme/
│   │   └── SecurityScannerTool.java    # MCP tools implementation
│   └── resources/
│       ├── application.properties       # Server configuration
│       └── vulnerabilities.json         # Vulnerability database

Related Guides

• MCP Server - HTTP (guide): The HTTP/SSE transport for the MCP server
• OWASP Top 10: Web application security risks
• CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration: Software weakness classification
• MCP Specification: Model Context Protocol documentation

🎯 Why This Server?

This MCP server demonstrates:

1. Practical Value: Provides actionable security intelligence, not just demo data
2. Real-World Application: Helps developers write more secure code
3. Extensibility: Easy to add more vulnerabilities or security patterns
4. Educational: Teaches security while demonstrating MCP capabilities
5. Integration: Shows how AI assistants can access domain-specific knowledge

Built with: Quarkus + MCP Server Extension
Purpose: Demonstrate practical MCP server development for IBM Bob integration
Focus: Java security vulnerability detection and remediation guidance