AI Threat Alert
CVE-2026-14538
AWAITING NVDAn improper authorization and security-boundary bypass vulnerability in the bigquery-execute-sql tool component of Google mcp-toolbox versions 0.16.1 through 1.4.0 allows an authenticated attacker to bypass allowedDatasets validation checks. The toolbox relies on the BigQuery dry-run API to enforce...
Full CISO analysis pending enrichment.
How severe is it?
What should I do?
No patch available
Monitor for updates. Consider compensating controls or temporary mitigations.
Which compliance frameworks are affected?
Compliance analysis pending. Sign in for full compliance mapping when available.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2026-14538?
An improper authorization and security-boundary bypass vulnerability in the bigquery-execute-sql tool component of Google mcp-toolbox versions 0.16.1 through 1.4.0 allows an authenticated attacker to bypass allowedDatasets validation checks. The toolbox relies on the BigQuery dry-run API to enforce dataset restrictions, but due to a fail-open logic flaw, it bypasses validation when the API returns an empty array for specialized constructs. This allows the attacker to extract structural DDL schemas for explicitly excluded datasets via INFORMATION_SCHEMA, and access downstream federated row data via EXTERNAL_QUERY connections.
Is CVE-2026-14538 actively exploited?
No confirmed active exploitation of CVE-2026-14538 has been reported, but organizations should still patch proactively.
How to fix CVE-2026-14538?
No patch is currently available. Monitor vendor advisories for updates.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-14538?
No CVSS score has been assigned yet.
What are the technical details?
Original Advisory
An improper authorization and security-boundary bypass vulnerability in the bigquery-execute-sql tool component of Google mcp-toolbox versions 0.16.1 through 1.4.0 allows an authenticated attacker to bypass allowedDatasets validation checks. The toolbox relies on the BigQuery dry-run API to enforce dataset restrictions, but due to a fail-open logic flaw, it bypasses validation when the API returns an empty array for specialized constructs. This allows the attacker to extract structural DDL schemas for explicitly excluded datasets via INFORMATION_SCHEMA, and access downstream federated row data via EXTERNAL_QUERY connections.
Weaknesses (CWE)
CWE-285 — Improper Authorization: The product does not perform or incorrectly performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action.
- [Architecture and Design] Divide the product into anonymous, normal, privileged, and administrative areas. Reduce the attack surface by carefully mapping roles with data and functionality. Use role-based access control (RBAC) to enforce the roles at the appropriate boundaries. Note that this approach may not protect against horizontal authorization, i.e., it will not protect a user from attacking others with the same role.
- [Architecture and Design] Ensure that you perform access control checks related to your business logic. These checks may be different than the access control checks that you apply to more generic resources such as files, connections, processes, memory, and database records. For example, a database may restrict access for medical records to a specific database user, but each record might only be intended to be accessible to the patient and the patient's doctor.
Source: MITRE CWE corpus.