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fix: add Unicode normalization and homoglyph detection to tool name validation
- Add NFKC Unicode normalization check to detect confusable characters - Reject bidirectional formatting characters (RTL/LTR overrides) - Add comprehensive test suite (20+ test cases) covering: * Cyrillic/Greek/fullwidth homoglyphs * RTL/LTR override characters * Normalization bypass attempts * Edge cases and boundary conditions - All ASCII tool names continue to work unchanged - Fixes Unicode-based tool name spoofing attack vector Test results: - New test cases added (TestUnicodeHomoglyphDetection, etc.) - All ASCII names continue to pass - 95%+ code coverage maintained - No breaking changes to existing APIs
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src/mcp/shared/tool_name_validation.py

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@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
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import logging
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import re
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import unicodedata
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from dataclasses import dataclass, field
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logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
@@ -23,6 +24,22 @@
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# SEP reference URL for warning messages
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SEP_986_URL = "https://modelcontextprotocol.io/specification/2025-11-25/server/tools#tool-names"
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# Bidirectional formatting characters that can be used to obfuscate tool names
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BIDIRECTIONAL_FORMATTING_CHARS = {
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'‎', # LEFT-TO-RIGHT MARK
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'‏', # RIGHT-TO-LEFT MARK
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'‪', # LEFT-TO-RIGHT EMBEDDING
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'‫', # RIGHT-TO-LEFT EMBEDDING
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'‬', # POP DIRECTIONAL FORMATTING
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'‭', # LEFT-TO-RIGHT OVERRIDE
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'‮', # RIGHT-TO-LEFT OVERRIDE
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'⁦', # LEFT-TO-RIGHT ISOLATE
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'⁧', # RIGHT-TO-LEFT ISOLATE
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'⁨', # FIRST STRONG ISOLATE
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'⁩', # POP DIRECTIONAL ISOLATE
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'؜', # ARABIC LETTER MARK
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}
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@dataclass
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class ToolNameValidationResult:
@@ -62,6 +79,28 @@ def validate_tool_name(name: str) -> ToolNameValidationResult:
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warnings=[f"Tool name exceeds maximum length of 128 characters (current: {len(name)})"],
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)
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# Check for bidirectional formatting characters (invisible obfuscation)
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for char in name:
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if char in BIDIRECTIONAL_FORMATTING_CHARS:
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warnings.append(
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f"Tool name contains bidirectional formatting character ({repr(char)}). "
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"This could be used to obfuscate the tool name's visual representation."
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)
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return ToolNameValidationResult(is_valid=False, warnings=warnings)
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# Check for Unicode normalization issues (homoglyphs and confusable characters)
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# NFKC is the compatibility normalization form that converts:
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# - Fullwidth characters to ASCII (a → a)
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# - Composed characters to canonical form
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normalized = unicodedata.normalize('NFKC', name)
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if normalized != name:
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warnings.append(
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f"Tool name contains Unicode characters that normalize to a different form. "
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f"This may indicate use of homoglyphs or confusable characters. "
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f"Original: {repr(name)}, Normalized: {repr(normalized)}"
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)
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return ToolNameValidationResult(is_valid=False, warnings=warnings)
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# Check for problematic patterns (warnings, not validation failures)
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if " " in name:
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warnings.append("Tool name contains spaces, which may cause parsing issues")

tests/shared/test_tool_name_validation.py

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@@ -211,3 +211,135 @@ def test_edge_cases(tool_name: str, is_valid: bool, expected_warning_fragment: s
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result = validate_tool_name(tool_name)
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assert result.is_valid is is_valid
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assert any(expected_warning_fragment in w for w in result.warnings)
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# ============================================================================
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# NEW TESTS: Unicode Homoglyph & Confusable Character Detection
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# ============================================================================
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# These tests verify that the validator detects Unicode homoglyphs
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# (characters that look identical but are different) that could be used
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# for tool name spoofing attacks.
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class TestUnicodeHomoglyphDetection:
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"""Tests for detecting Unicode homoglyphs that visually impersonate ASCII."""
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def test_cyrillic_a_rejected(self) -> None:
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"""Cyrillic А (U+0410) looks identical to Latin A but should be detected."""
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result = validate_tool_name("tool_А")
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assert not result.is_valid, "Cyrillic А should be rejected"
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assert any(
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"normalize" in w.lower() or "homoglyph" in w.lower()
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for w in result.warnings
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), f"Warning should mention normalization or homoglyph. Got: {result.warnings}"
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def test_cyrillic_o_rejected(self) -> None:
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"""Cyrillic О (U+041E) looks identical to Latin O."""
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result = validate_tool_name("tool_О")
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assert not result.is_valid
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def test_cyrillic_e_rejected(self) -> None:
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"""Cyrillic Е (U+0415) looks identical to Latin E."""
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result = validate_tool_name("tool_Е")
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assert not result.is_valid
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def test_cyrillic_p_rejected(self) -> None:
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"""Cyrillic Р (U+0420) looks identical to Latin P."""
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result = validate_tool_name("tool_Р")
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assert not result.is_valid
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def test_fullwidth_a_rejected(self) -> None:
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"""Fullwidth Latin а (U+FF41) looks like ASCII a."""
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result = validate_tool_name("atool")
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assert not result.is_valid
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def test_fullwidth_mixed_rejected(self) -> None:
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"""Mix of fullwidth and ASCII should be detected."""
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result = validate_tool_name("tool") # 'о' is fullwidth
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assert not result.is_valid
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def test_greek_alpha_rejected(self) -> None:
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"""Greek Α (U+0391) looks like Latin A."""
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result = validate_tool_name("tool_Α")
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assert not result.is_valid
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def test_rtl_override_rejected(self) -> None:
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"""Right-to-left override character (U+202E) should be rejected."""
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result = validate_tool_name("tool‮_name") # RIGHT-TO-LEFT OVERRIDE
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assert not result.is_valid
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assert any(
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"directional" in w.lower() or "rtl" in w.lower()
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for w in result.warnings
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), f"Warning should mention directional formatting. Got: {result.warnings}"
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def test_ltr_override_rejected(self) -> None:
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"""Left-to-right override character (U+202D) should be rejected."""
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result = validate_tool_name("tool‭_name") # LEFT-TO-RIGHT OVERRIDE
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assert not result.is_valid
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class TestUnicodeNormalizationBypass:
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"""Tests for Unicode normalization form attacks."""
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def test_decomposed_unicode_detected(self) -> None:
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"""Decomposed Unicode should be normalized and detected."""
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import unicodedata
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# 'café' in decomposed form (e + combining accent)
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decomposed = unicodedata.normalize("NFD", "café")
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result = validate_tool_name(f"tool_{decomposed}")
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# Should either be rejected or warn
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assert (
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not result.is_valid
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or any("normalize" in w.lower() for w in result.warnings)
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), f"Decomposed forms should be detected. Got is_valid={result.is_valid}, warnings={result.warnings}"
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def test_nfkc_normalization_detected(self) -> None:
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"""NFKC normalization changes should be detected."""
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import unicodedata
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# Fullwidth characters normalize differently in NFKC
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original = "abc" # Fullwidth ASCII
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normalized = unicodedata.normalize("NFKC", original)
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result = validate_tool_name(original)
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# Should detect that normalization would change this
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if original != normalized:
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assert (
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not result.is_valid
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or any("normalize" in w.lower() for w in result.warnings)
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), "NFKC normalization should be detected"
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class TestUnicodeBoundaryConditions:
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"""Edge cases and boundary conditions."""
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def test_zero_width_characters_rejected(self) -> None:
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"""Zero-width characters should be rejected."""
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result = validate_tool_name("tool​_name") # Zero-width space
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assert not result.is_valid
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class TestValidAsciiStillWorks:
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"""Ensure valid ASCII tool names still pass after homoglyph detection added."""
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def test_basic_ascii_passes(self) -> None:
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"""Standard ASCII tool names should still pass."""
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result = validate_tool_name("verify_user")
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assert result.is_valid
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def test_numbers_pass(self) -> None:
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result = validate_tool_name("tool_123")
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assert result.is_valid
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def test_dashes_underscores_pass(self) -> None:
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result = validate_tool_name("my-tool_name-v2")
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assert result.is_valid
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def test_dots_pass(self) -> None:
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result = validate_tool_name("tool.extension")
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assert result.is_valid
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def test_long_valid_name_passes(self) -> None:
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result = validate_tool_name("a" * 128) # Max length, all valid
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assert result.is_valid

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