Developer Finds Security Scanner Misses JSON Secrets After Building Deliberate Trick Tests

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A developer tested their own MCP security scanner, mcpscan, using a purpose-built harness designed to probe each detection rule with synthetic attack samples. Six of seven test fixtures triggered findings, but the secrets detection rule failed entirely on a JSON config containing a live API key. Investigation revealed two flaws: the token pattern rejected keys with internal dashes, and a fallback regex broke on JSON's quoted key format — meaning the scanner silently missed the most common MCP config structure. A targeted patch fixed both issues, though two obfuscation-based bypasses involving string splitting and zero-width characters remain open and documented. The developer argues that a scanner aware of its own blind spots is more reliable than one claiming complete coverage without adversarial testing.

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ProgrammingDEV Community ·

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