Executive brief
IBM ContextForge MCP Gateway is a critical infrastructure component for managing model context protocol deployments. The gateway ships with hardcoded default credentials ("changeme") for administrative and API authentication that are only disabled if explicitly overridden. An attacker on the network can use these publicly known credentials to gain full administrative control of the gateway, compromising all connected systems and data.
Technical details
This is a use-of-default-credentials vulnerability (CWE-1392) in IBM ContextForge MCP Gateway. The product contains three password configuration fields (`platform_admin_password`, `default_user_password`, and `basic_auth_password`) that default to the publicly known value "changeme". When basic authentication or the administrative UI are enabled without explicitly setting strong passwords, the gateway accepts these default credentials and only issues a startup warning rather than enforcing a fail-closed posture. An unauthenticated remote attacker with network access to the gateway can login using these default credentials to gain full administrative access. The vulnerability affects versions 1.0.0 through 1.0.9; IBM recommends upgrading to version 1.0.10 and explicitly setting all three password fields to strong values. Workaround: Ensure `api_allow_basic_auth` and `mcpgateway_ui_enabled` remain disabled if upgrading is delayed.
Affected products
- IBM ContextForge MCP Gateway 1.0.0 through 1.0.9
Timeline
- 2026-09-10: disclosed
- 2026-09-10: patched: Fixed in version 1.0.10