AttestoMCP.Metadata (AttestoMCP v2.1.0)

Copy Markdown View Source

Builders for OAuth metadata used by HTTP MCP authorization.

MCP HTTP servers that require authorization act as OAuth protected resources. The MCP authorization spec points clients at RFC 9728 protected-resource metadata first, then at RFC 8414 authorization-server metadata. This module builds those documents without coupling the package to any MCP server SDK.

Origin pinning behind a proxy

The resource identifier identifies this server, while authorization_servers identifies the issuer a client must use to obtain a token. A resource identifier may be derived from the live connection when it is used only for discovery. Any authentication policy that derives its token audience from the resource identifier must pin the origin.

Behind a TLS-terminating reverse proxy that derivation is both fragile and a spoofing vector: conn.scheme is often http, and conn.host reflects the request Host or whatever X-Forwarded-* rewriting produced. An attacker can therefore influence an unpinned resource. Pin the resource origin when it drives authorization policy, and identify the authorization server from a trusted configuration source:

  • The resource identifier and the well-known metadata URL use resolve_origin/2 - the resource server origin, pinned via :base_url or :origin (a String.t(), a (Plug.Conn.t() -> String.t()) callback, or a {module, fun} / {module, fun, args} tuple), falling back to the live request origin only when neither option is present. An explicitly configured pin that is invalid raises instead of falling back.
  • authorization_servers defaults to the :config issuer (or an explicit :issuer string) when one is supplied - the authorization server the host already trusts for token verification, advertised verbatim - and otherwise must be supplied explicitly with :authorization_servers. The issuer is deliberately NOT used as the resource origin: RFC 9728 keeps the protected resource and its authorization server distinct, and in a FAPI deployment they are usually different hosts.

Either can still be overridden outright with an explicit :resource / :authorization_servers opt. See guides/proxy_origin.md for the recipe.

Summary

Functions

Build an RFC 9728 protected-resource metadata document.

Build protected-resource metadata from a Plug connection and resource path.

Build the well-known metadata URL for an MCP resource path.

Build the well-known metadata URL, resolving the origin via resolve_origin/2.

Resolve the resource server origin used to build the resource identifier and the well-known metadata URL.

The canonical RFC 8707 / RFC 9728 resource identifier for this protected resource: the resolved origin joined with the resource path (for example "https://mcp.example.com/mcp").

Functions

protected_resource(opts)

@spec protected_resource(keyword()) :: %{required(String.t()) => term()}

Build an RFC 9728 protected-resource metadata document.

Required options:

  • :resource - an absolute HTTPS protected resource identifier with no fragment, usually the canonical MCP server URI such as "https://mcp.example.com/mcp". Pass allow_http: true for a deliberate local development endpoint.
  • :authorization_servers - a non-empty, unique list of HTTPS issuer identifiers with no query or fragment.

Common options include :scopes_supported, :bearer_methods_supported, :dpop_signing_alg_values_supported, and :tls_client_certificate_bound_access_tokens.

protected_resource(conn, resource_path, opts \\ [])

@spec protected_resource(Plug.Conn.t(), String.t(), keyword()) :: %{
  required(String.t()) => term()
}

Build protected-resource metadata from a Plug connection and resource path.

resource_path is the path of the MCP endpoint, for example "/mcp" or "/mcp/admin". The resource identifier is resolve_origin/2 (the resource server origin, pinned via :base_url/:origin) joined with that path. :authorization_servers defaults to the :config issuer (or an explicit :issuer string) when one is given. One of those sources is required; the authorization server is never inferred from the request authority.

An explicit :resource or :authorization_servers opt overrides the derived value, and short-circuits its derivation: a pinned origin / issuer callback is not invoked (and cannot fail) for a value the host supplied outright.

protected_resource_url(base_url, resource_path)

@spec protected_resource_url(String.t(), String.t()) :: String.t()
@spec protected_resource_url(Plug.Conn.t(), String.t()) :: String.t()

Build the well-known metadata URL for an MCP resource path.

iex> AttestoMCP.Metadata.protected_resource_url("https://mcp.example.com", "/mcp")
"https://mcp.example.com/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource/mcp"

A Plug connection can also be passed as the first argument. The legacy two-argument connection form remains available; new code should pass an options list as the third argument so origin pinning is explicit.

protected_resource_url(conn, resource_path, opts)

@spec protected_resource_url(Plug.Conn.t(), String.t(), keyword()) :: String.t()

Build the well-known metadata URL, resolving the origin via resolve_origin/2.

Pass :base_url/:origin in opts to pin the resource origin (so the challenge URL matches a pinned resource); with no such opt the live request origin is used.

resolve_origin(conn, opts)

@spec resolve_origin(
  Plug.Conn.t(),
  keyword()
) :: String.t()

Resolve the resource server origin used to build the resource identifier and the well-known metadata URL.

This is the protected resource's own origin (RFC 9728 resource), which is distinct from the authorization server (authorization_servers / the Attesto.Config issuer) - the two are often different hosts in a FAPI deployment, so the issuer is NOT used here. Precedence:

  1. an explicit :base_url or :origin opt - a String.t(), a (Plug.Conn.t() -> String.t()) callback, or a {module, fun} / {module, fun, args} tuple (the conn is prepended to args), resolved at request time;
  2. the live request origin (conn.scheme/conn.host/conn.port).

When neither pin is present, the request origin is used. Once either option is present, it is configuration: invalid literal values and invalid callback results raise instead of falling back to the request authority. A trailing slash is trimmed so the result joins cleanly with a resource path.

resource_identifier(conn, resource_path, opts \\ [])

@spec resource_identifier(Plug.Conn.t(), String.t(), keyword()) :: String.t()

The canonical RFC 8707 / RFC 9728 resource identifier for this protected resource: the resolved origin joined with the resource path (for example "https://mcp.example.com/mcp").

This is the SINGLE source for the value that must agree across the chain — the RFC 9728 metadata resource field, the RFC 8707 resource a client requests, the aud the authorization server mints, and the audience the resource-server plug validates. Driving the audience check and the advertised metadata from this one function is what makes them consistent by construction (a host cannot configure them into disagreement). Origin precedence is resolve_origin/2's.