What Is MCP Server?
An MCP server is a lightweight service that implements the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to expose a specific set of tools, data, or actions to an AI agent or LLM application. Each MCP server acts as a bridge between the AI agent (the MCP client) and an external system — for example, a GitHub MCP server might expose functions to read repositories and open pull requests, while a Slack MCP server might expose functions to send messages or search channels. MCP servers can run locally on a user's machine or be hosted remotely, and they authenticate to the underlying systems they wrap using their own credentials, such as an API key, OAuth token, or service account. Organizations can build custom MCP servers or install community and vendor-published ones, often with little central oversight.
Why It Matters
Every MCP server is a standing credential with a blast radius. Because MCP servers are easy to install — often with a single config file entry — employees and developers frequently connect them to production systems without registering the credential anywhere a security team can see it. A single over-privileged MCP server can hand an AI agent read/write access to a code repository, a customer database, or a cloud account, and if that agent is manipulated through a prompt injection or the server's credential leaks, the blast radius extends to everything the server can reach. This mirrors the risk already documented in OWASP's NHI Top 10 (2025): 80% of identity breaches involve a non-human identity, and a typical 100-person company already runs 2,000+ non-human identities before counting MCP servers. Unlike a traditional service account provisioned through IAM, an MCP server's credentials often bypass onboarding review entirely, making orphaned and unrotated MCP credentials a growing blind spot as agentic AI adoption accelerates across engineering, IT, and business teams.
How Cydenti Helps
Cydenti treats every MCP server credential as a first-class non-human identity: discovering where MCP servers are deployed, what credentials they hold, what permissions those credentials carry, and which AI agents depend on them. Rather than leaving MCP server sprawl to spreadsheets or config files scattered across developer laptops and cloud environments, Cydenti surfaces over-privileged, unrotated, or orphaned MCP server credentials in one identity graph alongside your other service accounts and API keys, so security teams can enforce least privilege and catch risky connections before they're exploited.
Explore →Frequently Asked Questions
Where do MCP servers run?
MCP servers can run locally on a developer's machine, inside a company's own infrastructure, or as a hosted service operated by a vendor. Local servers typically use STDIO for communication, while remote servers use HTTP-based transport. Either way, the server holds credentials to the systems it connects to, which is why its deployment location matters for security review.
Can an MCP server be a security risk even if the AI agent is trustworthy?
Yes. The risk often lives in the server's credentials and permissions, not the agent's intentions. An MCP server configured with broad, unreviewed access — or one running outdated, vulnerable code — can be exploited independently of the AI agent, exposing whatever systems and data it was connected to.
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