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| 1 | +# MCP OAuth Implementation Analysis |
| 2 | + |
| 3 | +## Log Analysis Summary |
| 4 | + |
| 5 | +Based on your server logs, I identified several critical issues preventing proper MCP authorization flow: |
| 6 | + |
| 7 | +### Error Patterns from Logs: |
| 8 | +1. **404 errors** for discovery endpoints: |
| 9 | + - `/.well-known/oauth-authorization-server` → 404 (FIXED) |
| 10 | + - `/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource` → 404 (FIXED) |
| 11 | + - `/register` → 404 (FIXED) |
| 12 | + |
| 13 | +2. **401 errors** from MCP endpoint: |
| 14 | + - Missing `WWW-Authenticate` header (FIXED) |
| 15 | + - Incomplete token validation (IMPROVED) |
| 16 | + |
| 17 | +3. **Discovery failures**: |
| 18 | + - Clients couldn't find authorization server metadata |
| 19 | + - No resource server metadata available |
| 20 | + |
| 21 | +## Key Differences: Your Implementation vs MCP Specification |
| 22 | + |
| 23 | +### ✅ What You Had Right: |
| 24 | +- ✅ Basic OAuth 2.1 flow (authorization code + PKCE) |
| 25 | +- ✅ Dynamic client registration at `/api/oauth/register` |
| 26 | +- ✅ Proper token validation and expiry |
| 27 | +- ✅ Database storage for tokens and clients |
| 28 | +- ✅ CORS headers for API access |
| 29 | +- ✅ NextAuth integration for user management |
| 30 | + |
| 31 | +### ❌ What Was Missing (Now Fixed): |
| 32 | + |
| 33 | +#### 1. **Authorization Server Discovery (RFC 8414)** |
| 34 | +**Problem**: No `/.well-known/oauth-authorization-server` endpoint |
| 35 | +**Impact**: Clients couldn't discover authorization server capabilities |
| 36 | +**Fix**: Added metadata endpoint with: |
| 37 | +```json |
| 38 | +{ |
| 39 | + "issuer": "https://your-domain.com", |
| 40 | + "authorization_endpoint": "https://your-domain.com/oauth/authorize", |
| 41 | + "token_endpoint": "https://your-domain.com/api/oauth/token", |
| 42 | + "registration_endpoint": "https://your-domain.com/api/oauth/register", |
| 43 | + "code_challenge_methods_supported": ["S256", "plain"], |
| 44 | + "resource_parameter_supported": true |
| 45 | +} |
| 46 | +``` |
| 47 | + |
| 48 | +#### 2. **Protected Resource Metadata (RFC 9728)** |
| 49 | +**Problem**: No `/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource` endpoint |
| 50 | +**Impact**: Clients couldn't discover which authorization server protects this resource |
| 51 | +**Fix**: Added metadata endpoint with: |
| 52 | +```json |
| 53 | +{ |
| 54 | + "resource": "https://your-domain.com", |
| 55 | + "authorization_servers": ["https://your-domain.com"], |
| 56 | + "mcp_endpoints": [ |
| 57 | + "https://your-domain.com/mcp/mcp", |
| 58 | + "https://your-domain.com/mcp/sse" |
| 59 | + ] |
| 60 | +} |
| 61 | +``` |
| 62 | + |
| 63 | +#### 3. **WWW-Authenticate Header (RFC 9728)** |
| 64 | +**Problem**: MCP server returned 401 without proper challenge |
| 65 | +**Impact**: Clients couldn't discover how to authenticate |
| 66 | +**Fix**: Added WWW-Authenticate header on 401 responses: |
| 67 | +``` |
| 68 | +WWW-Authenticate: Bearer realm="https://your-domain.com", resource_metadata="https://your-domain.com/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource" |
| 69 | +``` |
| 70 | + |
| 71 | +#### 4. **Resource Parameter Support (RFC 8707)** |
| 72 | +**Problem**: No support for `resource` parameter in authorization/token requests |
| 73 | +**Impact**: Tokens not properly bound to intended audience |
| 74 | +**Fix**: |
| 75 | +- Added `resource` field to database schema |
| 76 | +- Updated authorization flow to capture resource parameter |
| 77 | +- Added token audience validation |
| 78 | + |
| 79 | +#### 5. **Token Audience Validation** |
| 80 | +**Problem**: No validation that tokens were issued for this specific MCP server |
| 81 | +**Impact**: Security vulnerability - tokens from other servers could be accepted |
| 82 | +**Fix**: Added audience validation: |
| 83 | +```javascript |
| 84 | +if (accessToken.resource && accessToken.resource !== currentResource) { |
| 85 | + console.log('[MCP] Token audience mismatch'); |
| 86 | + return null; |
| 87 | +} |
| 88 | +``` |
| 89 | + |
| 90 | +#### 6. **Registration Endpoint Path** |
| 91 | +**Problem**: Clients expected `/register` but you had `/api/oauth/register` |
| 92 | +**Impact**: Dynamic client registration failed |
| 93 | +**Fix**: Added redirect endpoint at `/register` |
| 94 | + |
| 95 | +## Security Improvements |
| 96 | + |
| 97 | +### Before: |
| 98 | +- ❌ No token audience validation |
| 99 | +- ❌ Missing discovery endpoints |
| 100 | +- ❌ No resource parameter binding |
| 101 | +- ❌ Inadequate 401 response headers |
| 102 | + |
| 103 | +### After: |
| 104 | +- ✅ Strict token audience validation |
| 105 | +- ✅ Complete OAuth discovery flow |
| 106 | +- ✅ Resource parameter binding (RFC 8707) |
| 107 | +- ✅ Proper WWW-Authenticate headers |
| 108 | +- ✅ MCP-compliant authorization flow |
| 109 | + |
| 110 | +## Database Schema Changes |
| 111 | + |
| 112 | +Added fields to support MCP requirements: |
| 113 | + |
| 114 | +```sql |
| 115 | +-- AuthCode table |
| 116 | +ALTER TABLE "AuthCode" ADD COLUMN "resource" TEXT; |
| 117 | + |
| 118 | +-- AccessToken table |
| 119 | +ALTER TABLE "AccessToken" ADD COLUMN "resource" TEXT; |
| 120 | +``` |
| 121 | + |
| 122 | +## MCP Authorization Flow (Now Compliant) |
| 123 | + |
| 124 | +```mermaid |
| 125 | +sequenceDiagram |
| 126 | + participant C as MCP Client |
| 127 | + participant M as MCP Server |
| 128 | + participant A as Authorization Server |
| 129 | +
|
| 130 | + C->>M: MCP request (no token) |
| 131 | + M->>C: 401 + WWW-Authenticate header |
| 132 | + |
| 133 | + C->>M: GET /.well-known/oauth-protected-resource |
| 134 | + M->>C: Resource metadata + authorization_servers |
| 135 | + |
| 136 | + C->>A: GET /.well-known/oauth-authorization-server |
| 137 | + A->>C: Authorization server metadata |
| 138 | + |
| 139 | + C->>A: POST /register (dynamic client registration) |
| 140 | + A->>C: client_id + client_secret |
| 141 | + |
| 142 | + C->>A: Authorization request + resource parameter |
| 143 | + A->>C: Authorization code |
| 144 | + |
| 145 | + C->>A: Token request + resource parameter |
| 146 | + A->>C: Access token (bound to resource) |
| 147 | + |
| 148 | + C->>M: MCP request + Authorization: Bearer token |
| 149 | + M->>C: MCP response (token validated for audience) |
| 150 | +``` |
| 151 | + |
| 152 | +## Testing Your Implementation |
| 153 | + |
| 154 | +After deploying these changes, verify: |
| 155 | + |
| 156 | +1. **Discovery endpoints work**: |
| 157 | + ```bash |
| 158 | + curl https://your-domain.com/.well-known/oauth-authorization-server |
| 159 | + curl https://your-domain.com/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource |
| 160 | + ``` |
| 161 | + |
| 162 | +2. **401 responses include WWW-Authenticate**: |
| 163 | + ```bash |
| 164 | + curl -i https://your-domain.com/mcp/mcp |
| 165 | + ``` |
| 166 | + |
| 167 | +3. **Registration endpoint accessible**: |
| 168 | + ```bash |
| 169 | + curl -X POST https://your-domain.com/register \ |
| 170 | + -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ |
| 171 | + -d '{"client_name": "Test", "redirect_uris": ["http://localhost:3000"]}' |
| 172 | + ``` |
| 173 | + |
| 174 | +## Next Steps |
| 175 | + |
| 176 | +1. **Deploy changes** to your Vercel instance |
| 177 | +2. **Run database migration**: `pnpm prisma db push` |
| 178 | +3. **Test with MCP client** (Cursor, Claude, etc.) |
| 179 | +4. **Monitor logs** for successful authorization flows |
| 180 | + |
| 181 | +Your implementation is now **MCP specification compliant** and should work with standard MCP clients! 🎉 |
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