Quick answers
- Is CVE-2026-45781 exploited in the wild?
- No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-45781 being exploited in the wild.
- How severe is CVE-2026-45781?
- Low severity, with a CVSS score of 3.5, published 14 May 2026.
- Which products and versions are affected?
- github.com/modelcontextprotocol/registry (Go) < 1.7.9, SEMVER:introduced=0,fixed=1.7.9; Model Context Protocol MCP Registry < 1.7.9; Model Context Protocol Registry < 1.7.9.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2026-45781?
- Yes. github.com/modelcontextprotocol/registry (Go): upgrade to 1.7.9 or later. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.
- How is CVE-2026-45781 attacked?
- It is attacked over the network, in a hosted service.
- Am I affected by CVE-2026-45781?
- Check whether you run github.com/modelcontextprotocol/registry (Go), Model Context Protocol MCP Registry or Model Context Protocol Registry at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.
How to fix
- github.com/modelcontextprotocol/registry (Go): upgrade to 1.7.9 or later
go get github.com/modelcontextprotocol/registry@v1.7.9
Technical details
The vulnerability exists in `internal/validators/registries/oci.go` where the `ValidateOCI` function returns `nil` (success) when a `http.StatusTooManyRequests` (429) error is received from an upstream OCI registry like Docker Hub. This 'fail-open' behavior bypasses the mandatory `io.modelcontextprotocol.server.name` label-match check, which is the primary mechanism for proving image ownership. An attacker can intentionally trigger this state by exhausting the registry's anonymous Docker Hub quota (100 pulls/6h) through rapid `/publish` requests. Once the quota is exhausted, the attacker can successfully publish a server record that points to any public OCI image they do not control. The issue is fixed in version 1.7.9 by treating rate limits as a validation error.
Affected products
- modelcontextprotocol registry < 1.7.9
Identifiers
- CVE-2026-45781
- GHSA-2v5f-5r6w-p67r
- GO-2026-5008
Timeline
- 2026-05-09: other: Vulnerability identified in commit fe0cb3b
- 2026-05-12: disclosed: Reported via GitHub Private Security Advisory
- 2026-05-19: patched: Fix released in version 1.7.9
- 2026-05-19: advisory