@cyanheads/nist-nvd-mcp-server
Search and audit CVEs by keyword, severity, CWE, CISA KEV status, and CPE via the NIST National Vulnerability Database. STDIO or Streamable HTTP.
5 Tools • 1 Resource
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**Public Hosted Server:** [https://nist-nvd.caseyjhand.com/mcp](https://nist-nvd.caseyjhand.com/mcp)
---
## Tools
Five tools for vulnerability research, CPE auditing, and change tracking against the NIST NVD API 2.0:
| Tool | Description |
|:-----|:------------|
| `nvd_search_cves` | Search CVEs by keyword, severity, CWE, date range, or CISA KEV status. |
| `nvd_get_cve` | Fetch one or more CVEs by ID — full CVSS scores, CWE, CPE configs, KEV fields, and references. |
| `nvd_search_cpes` | Search the NVD CPE dictionary by product keyword or partial match string. |
| `nvd_audit_cpe` | Find all CVEs affecting a specific product version by CPE name or virtual match string. |
| `nvd_get_cve_history` | Retrieve the change history for a CVE — score revisions, status transitions, and reference additions. |
### `nvd_search_cves`
The primary discovery tool for vulnerability surveillance and triage workflows.
- Full-text keyword search across CVE descriptions (AND-semantics across words), or `exactPhrase: true` to match the keyword as a phrase
- Severity filter by CVSS v2/v3/v4 label (LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH, CRITICAL)
- CWE weakness filter (e.g., `CWE-79`, `NVD-CWE-Other`)
- CISA KEV filter — limit results to known-exploited vulnerabilities
- Convenience date shorthands: `pubDays` and `lastModDays` for "last N days" queries
- Explicit ISO 8601 date range parameters (`pubStartDate`/`pubEndDate`, etc.) with 120-day max span
- Auto-clamps convenience date params that exceed 120 days and reports clamped values in the response enrichment
- Pagination via `limit` (up to 2000) and `offset`
- Every row carries a truncated description alongside the ID, so results are distinguishable without a follow-up fetch
- Results are always brief; call `nvd_get_cve` for full detail
---
### `nvd_get_cve`
Fetch one or more CVEs by ID with full detail or brief summaries.
- Batch up to 100 CVE IDs per call
- Full mode: all CVSS scores across v2.0, v3.0, v3.1, and v4.0; CWE weaknesses; CPE configurations; CISA KEV fields; references
- Brief mode (`brief: true`): ID, status, top severity, KEV name, truncated description — recommended for batches larger than 10
- `includeReferences: false` to strip the references array and reduce response size
- Per-ID parity check: the `missingIds` enrichment field lists any requested IDs NVD didn't return
- Rendered text carries the affected-product criteria and references the record holds, capped with a `… N more` trailer; `allLanguages: true` renders every localized description, not just English
---
### `nvd_search_cpes`
Look up product identifiers before auditing.
- Keyword search (e.g., `"apache http server"`, `"openssl"`) or partial CPEv2.3 pattern
- Returns full CPE name, human-readable title, deprecation status, and superseding CPEs
- Pagination via `limit` (up to 10,000 per page) and `offset` — a vendor-level keyword can match tens of thousands of entries, so page with `offset` rather than trying to narrow further
- Use this before `nvd_audit_cpe` — CPE names are arcane strings; guessing audits the wrong product
---
### `nvd_audit_cpe`
Full CVE audit for a specific product version.
- Two modes: exact `cpeName` (NVD auto-applies `isVulnerable`) or `virtualMatchString` with optional version range bounds
- Version range via `versionStart`/`versionEnd` with inclusive/exclusive type control
- Client-side severity filter (`severityMin`) to strip low-signal entries
- Returns full CVE records (ID, CVSS scores, CWE, CPE configurations, KEV fields, references)
- Pagination via `limit` (up to 2000) and `offset` — page at a modest `limit` instead of raising it, since each result is a full record
- Echoes the CPE identifier used in the response enrichment so callers can verify the correct product was queried
---
### `nvd_get_cve_history`
Track a CVE's lifecycle over time.
- Returns change events: CVSS revisions, status transitions, reference additions, CPE configuration updates
- `order` picks which end to read from — `newest` (default) returns the most recent events first, `oldest` returns NVD's native oldest-first order
- Paginated via `limit` and `offset`, where `offset` counts from the end `order` anchors to
- Note: the NVD history endpoint is significantly slower without an API key — set `NVD_API_KEY` and raise `NVD_REQUEST_TIMEOUT_MS` for reliable operation
## Resource
| Type | Name | Description |
|:-----|:-----|:------------|
| Resource | `nvd://cve/{cveId}` | Full CVE record by ID — same data as `nvd_get_cve` for a single ID, as a stable URI for injectable context. |
All resource data is also reachable via tools.
## Features
Built on [`@cyanheads/mcp-ts-core`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@cyanheads/mcp-ts-core):
- Declarative tool, resource, and prompt definitions — single file per primitive, framework handles registration and validation
- Unified error handling — handlers throw, framework catches, classifies, and formats
- Pluggable auth: `none`, `jwt`, `oauth`
- Swappable storage backends: `in-memory`, `filesystem`, `Supabase`, `Cloudflare KV/R2/D1`
- Structured logging with optional OpenTelemetry tracing
- STDIO and Streamable HTTP transports
NVD-specific:
- Request pacer enforces NVD's 5 req/30s (no key) and 50 req/30s (with key) limits with automatic queuing, at a minimum inter-request gap derived from the window and limit
- Retry wraps the pacer rather than sitting inside it — every attempt takes its own turn in the queue, so retries count against the rate budget instead of bursting past it
- A 403's `Retry-After` holds the whole queue until NVD's window resets. Keyless, a 403 fails fast and names `NVD_API_KEY` rather than spending a 5-request budget on retries that cannot outlast a 30-second window
- Deterministic rejections fail fast instead of consuming retries. NVD answers both a bad parameter and a refused API key with HTTP 404, separated only by a `message` header — a refused key surfaces as a config fault naming `NVD_API_KEY` rather than as a malformed CVE ID
- HTML-response guard catches NVD rate-limit pages served as HTML instead of 403
Agent-friendly output:
- An `enrichment` block on every response, carried on both `structuredContent` and the rendered text — total results, returned count, page offset, the filters actually applied, and any date-clamping events, so agents can reason about what was really queried
- `missingIds` in batch CVE lookups — per-ID parity check instead of a silent partial result
- CPE echo in audit responses — `cpeName` or `virtualMatchString` reflected back so callers can verify the correct product was audited
- Empty-result notices that name the cause — an unmatched query, a severity threshold that emptied the page, and an offset past the end of the result set are told apart rather than all reading as "nothing found"
- An audit that finds nothing is a result, not an error — a product with no CVEs in NVD returns an empty page with `totalCount: 0` on either input arm, so "no known vulnerabilities" reads as the answer it is
## Getting started
Add the following to your MCP client configuration file.
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"nist-nvd-mcp-server": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "bunx",
"args": ["@cyanheads/nist-nvd-mcp-server@latest"],
"env": {
"MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE": "stdio",
"MCP_LOG_LEVEL": "info",
"NVD_API_KEY": "your-api-key"
}
}
}
}
```
Or with npx (no Bun required):
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"nist-nvd-mcp-server": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@cyanheads/nist-nvd-mcp-server@latest"],
"env": {
"MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE": "stdio",
"MCP_LOG_LEVEL": "info",
"NVD_API_KEY": "your-api-key"
}
}
}
}
```
Or with Docker:
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"nist-nvd-mcp-server": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "docker",
"args": [
"run", "-i", "--rm",
"-e", "MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE=stdio",
"-e", "NVD_API_KEY=your-api-key",
"ghcr.io/cyanheads/nist-nvd-mcp-server:latest"
]
}
}
}
```
For Streamable HTTP, set the transport and start the server:
```sh
MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE=http MCP_HTTP_PORT=3010 NVD_API_KEY=... bun run start:http
# Server listens at http://localhost:3010/mcp
```
### Prerequisites
- [Bun v1.3.0](https://bun.sh/) or higher (or Node.js v24+).
- Optional: [NVD API key](https://nvd.nist.gov/developers/request-an-api-key) — free, raises rate limit from 5 req/30s to 50 req/30s.
### Installation
1. **Clone the repository:**
```sh
git clone https://github.com/cyanheads/nist-nvd-mcp-server.git
```
2. **Navigate into the directory:**
```sh
cd nist-nvd-mcp-server
```
3. **Install dependencies:**
```sh
bun install
```
4. **Configure environment:**
```sh
cp .env.example .env
# edit .env and set NVD_API_KEY if you have one
```
## Configuration
| Variable | Description | Default |
|:---------|:------------|:--------|
| `NVD_API_KEY` | NVD API key. Without it, rate limit is 5 req/30s; with it, 50 req/30s. Get one free at [nvd.nist.gov/developers/request-an-api-key](https://nvd.nist.gov/developers/request-an-api-key). | — |
| `NVD_REQUEST_TIMEOUT_MS` | Per-request timeout in milliseconds. The history endpoint is slow without an API key — raise to 60000 if using `nvd_get_cve_history` without a key. | `10000` |
| `MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE` | Transport: `stdio` or `http`. | `stdio` |
| `MCP_HTTP_PORT` | Port for HTTP server. | `3010` |
| `MCP_AUTH_MODE` | Auth mode: `none`, `jwt`, or `oauth`. | `none` |
| `MCP_LOG_LEVEL` | Log level (RFC 5424). | `info` |
| `LOGS_DIR` | Directory for log files (Node.js only). | `/logs` |
| `OTEL_ENABLED` | Enable [OpenTelemetry instrumentation](https://github.com/cyanheads/mcp-ts-core/tree/main/docs/telemetry). | `false` |
See [`.env.example`](./.env.example) for the full list of optional overrides.
## Running the server
### Local development
- **Build and run:**
```sh
# One-time build
bun run rebuild
# Run the built server
bun run start:stdio
# or
bun run start:http
```
- **Run checks and tests:**
```sh
bun run devcheck # Lint, format, typecheck, security
bun run test # Vitest test suite
bun run lint:mcp # Validate MCP definitions against spec
```
### Docker
```sh
docker build -t nist-nvd-mcp-server .
docker run --rm -e NVD_API_KEY=your-key -p 3010:3010 nist-nvd-mcp-server
```
The Dockerfile defaults to HTTP transport, stateless session mode, and logs to `/var/log/nist-nvd-mcp-server`. OpenTelemetry peer dependencies are installed by default — build with `--build-arg OTEL_ENABLED=false` to omit them.
## Project structure
| Directory | Purpose |
|:----------|:--------|
| `src/index.ts` | `createApp()` entry point — registers tools/resources and inits services. |
| `src/config` | Server-specific environment variable parsing and validation with Zod. |
| `src/mcp-server/tools` | Tool definitions (`*.tool.ts`). |
| `src/mcp-server/resources` | Resource definitions (`*.resource.ts`). |
| `src/services/nvd-http` | NVD HTTP client with rate-limit pacing and retry. |
| `src/services/nvd-cve` | CVE service — search, fetch-by-ID, CPE audit, change history, normalization. |
| `src/services/nvd-cpe` | CPE service — dictionary search and normalization. |
| `src/services/nvd-source` | Source service — resolves NVD contributor identifiers to their published names. |
| `tests/` | Unit and integration tests mirroring `src/`. |
## Development guide
See [`CLAUDE.md`](./CLAUDE.md) for development guidelines and architectural rules. The short version:
- Handlers throw, framework catches — no `try/catch` in tool logic
- Use `ctx.log` for request-scoped logging, `ctx.state` for tenant-scoped storage
- Register new tools and resources via the barrels in `src/mcp-server/*/definitions/index.ts`
- Wrap external API calls: validate raw → normalize to domain type → return output schema; never fabricate missing fields
## Contributing
Issues and pull requests are welcome. Run checks and tests before submitting:
```sh
bun run devcheck
bun run test
```
## License
Apache-2.0 — see [LICENSE](LICENSE) for details.