CVE-2025-5273 is a high-severity vulnerability affecting all versions of the mcp-markdownify-server package. The vulnerability arises from the get-markdown-file tool within the server, which improperly restricts access to files or directories. An attacker can craft a malicious prompt that, when processed by the MCP host running the server, enables arbitrary file reading on the host system. This vulnerability is categorized under CWE-552, which relates to files or directories accessible to external parties, indicating a failure to properly enforce access controls. The CVSS 4.0 base score of 8.2 reflects the critical nature of this flaw, with an attack vector of network (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required (PR:N), but requiring user interaction (UI:A). The vulnerability has a high impact on confidentiality (VC:H) but does not affect integrity or availability. The scope is unchanged, and no authentication is required, making exploitation feasible remotely if a user interacts with the malicious prompt. No known exploits are currently in the wild, and no patches have been published yet. This vulnerability could allow attackers to read sensitive configuration files, credentials, or other critical data residing on the server, potentially leading to further compromise or data leakage.

For European organizations using the mcp-markdownify-server package, this vulnerability poses a significant risk to data confidentiality. Unauthorized access to arbitrary files could expose sensitive business information, personal data protected under GDPR, or intellectual property. The breach of confidentiality could lead to regulatory penalties, reputational damage, and financial losses. Since the vulnerability requires user interaction, phishing or social engineering campaigns could be used as attack vectors. Organizations relying on this package in web services, internal tools, or content management systems may face increased risk of targeted attacks. The lack of patches means organizations must implement immediate mitigations to prevent exploitation. Given the high confidentiality impact, attackers could leverage this vulnerability as a foothold for lateral movement or privilege escalation within corporate networks.

1. Immediately audit all deployments of mcp-markdownify-server to identify affected instances. 2. Restrict network access to the server hosting mcp-markdownify-server, limiting exposure to trusted internal networks only. 3. Implement strict input validation and sanitization on any user-supplied prompts or inputs processed by the get-markdown-file tool to prevent malicious payloads. 4. Employ application-layer firewalls or web application firewalls (WAFs) to detect and block suspicious requests targeting the vulnerable functionality. 5. Educate users and administrators about the risk of interacting with untrusted prompts or inputs related to this service to reduce the likelihood of user interaction exploitation. 6. Monitor logs for unusual file access patterns or unexpected prompt executions. 7. Prepare for patch deployment by following vendor advisories closely and testing updates in controlled environments once available. 8. Consider isolating the mcp-markdownify-server in a sandboxed environment with minimal privileges to limit potential damage from exploitation.