vuln-nist-mcp-server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for querying NIST National Vulnerability Database (NVD) API endpoints.

Purpose

This MCP server exposes tools to query the NVD/CVE REST API and return formatted text results suitable for LLM consumption via the MCP protocol. It includes automatic query chunking for large date ranges and parallel processing for improved performance.

Base API docs: https://nvd.nist.gov/developers/vulnerabilities

Features

Available Tools

get_temporal_context - Get current date and temporal context for time-relative queries
- Essential for queries like "this year", "last year", "6 months ago"
- Provides current date mappings and examples for date parameter construction
- USAGE: Call this tool FIRST when user asks time-relative questions
search_cves - Search CVE descriptions by keyword with flexible date filtering
- Parameters: keyword, resultsPerPage (default: 20), startIndex (default: 0), last_days (recent_days has been deprecated), start_date, end_date
- New in v1.1.0: Support for absolute date ranges with start_date and end_date parameters
- Date filtering priority: start_date/end_date → last_days → default 30 days
- Auto-chunks queries > 120 days into parallel requests
- Results sorted by publication date (newest first)
get_cve_by_id - Retrieve detailed information for a specific CVE
- Parameters: cve_id
- Returns: CVE details, references, tags, and publication dates
cves_by_cpe - List CVEs associated with a Common Platform Enumeration (CPE)
- Parameters: cpe_name (full CPE 2.3 format required), is_vulnerable (optional)
- Validates CPE format before querying
kevs_between - Find CVEs added to CISA KEV catalog within a date range
- Parameters: kevStartDate, kevEndDate, resultsPerPage (default: 20), startIndex (default: 0)
- Auto-chunks queries > 90 days into parallel requests
- Results sorted by publication date (newest first)
cve_change_history - Retrieve change history for CVEs
- Parameters: cve_id OR (changeStartDate + changeEndDate), resultsPerPage (default: 20), startIndex (default: 0)
- Auto-chunks date range queries > 120 days into parallel requests
- Results sorted by change creation date (newest first)

Key Features

Temporal Awareness: New get_temporal_context tool for accurate time-relative queries
Flexible Date Filtering: Support for both relative (last_days) and absolute (start_date/end_date) date ranges
Improved Result Ordering: All results sorted chronologically (newest first) for better relevance
Parallel Processing: Large date ranges are automatically split into chunks and processed concurrently
Input Validation: CPE format validation, date parsing, parameter sanitization
Emoji Indicators: Clear visual feedback (✅ success, ❌ error, ⚠️ warning, 🔍 search, 🔥 KEV, 🌐 CPE, 🕘 history, 📅 temporal)
Comprehensive Logging: Detailed stderr logging for debugging
Error Handling: Graceful handling of API errors, timeouts, and malformed responses

Prerequisites

Docker (recommended) or Python 3.11+
Network access to NVD endpoints (services.nvd.nist.gov)
MCP-compatible client (e.g., Claude Desktop)

Quick Start

Using Docker (Recommended)

bash

# Clone and build
git clone https://github.com/HaroldFinchIFT/vuln-nist-mcp-server
cd vuln-nist-mcp-server
docker build -t vuln-nist-mcp-server .

# Run
docker run --rm -it vuln-nist-mcp-server

Configuration

Environment variables:

NVD_BASE_URL: Base URL for NVD API (default: https://services.nvd.nist.gov/rest/json)
NVD_VERSION: API version (default: /2.0)
NVD_API_TIMEOUT: Request timeout in seconds (default: 10)

Usage Examples

With Claude Desktop or MCP Client

Get temporal context for time-relative queries:

Code

Tool: get_temporal_context
Params: {}

Search recent CVEs (relative time):

Code

Tool: search_cves
Params: {
  "keyword": "Microsoft Exchange",
  "resultsPerPage": 10,
  "last_days": 7
}

Search CVEs with absolute date range:

Code

Tool: search_cves
Params: {
  "keyword": "buffer overflow",
  "start_date": "2024-01-01T00:00:00",
  "end_date": "2024-03-31T23:59:59"
}

Search CVEs for "this year" (use get_temporal_context first):

Code

# First, get temporal context
Tool: get_temporal_context

# Then use the provided date mappings
Tool: search_cves
Params: {
  "keyword": "remote code execution",
  "start_date": "2025-01-01T00:00:00",
  "end_date": "2025-09-17T12:00:00"
}

Get CVE details:

Code

Tool: get_cve_by_id
Params: {"cve_id": "CVE-2024-21413"}

Check CPE vulnerabilities:

Code

Tool: cves_by_cpe
Params: {
  "cpe_name": "cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:exchange_server:2019:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
  "is_vulnerable": "true"
}

Find recent KEV additions:

Code

Tool: kevs_between
Params: {
  "kevStartDate": "2024-01-01T00:00:00.000Z",
  "kevEndDate": "2024-03-31T23:59:59.000Z"
}

Performance Notes

Queries with date ranges > 90-120 days are automatically chunked for better performance
Parallel processing reduces total query time for large date ranges
Results are automatically sorted by publication date (newest first) across all chunks

Development

File Structure

Code

vuln-nist-mcp-server/
├── Dockerfile
├── glama.json
├── LICENSE
├── nvd_logo.png
├── README.md
├── requirements.txt
├── SECURITY.md 
└── vuln_nist_mcp_server.py

Security Considerations

No API key required (public NVD endpoints)
Container runs as non-root user (mcpuser)
Input validation prevents injection attacks
No persistent storage of sensitive data
Network capabilities added only when required via Docker flags

Contributing

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch
Make your changes
Test locally
Submit a pull request

License

MIT - see LICENSE file for details

Changelog

v1.1.0

NEW: Added get_temporal_context tool for temporal awareness and time-relative queries
ENHANCED: search_cves now supports absolute date ranges with start_date and end_date parameters
ENHANCED: Improved date filtering logic with priority: absolute dates → relative days → default 30 days
ENHANCED: All tools now return results sorted chronologically (newest first) for better relevance
IMPROVED: Better error handling for ISO-8601 date parsing
DEPRECATED: recent_days parameter in search_cves (use last_days instead)
UPDATED: Logo and visual improvements

v1.0.0

Initial release
Support for all major NVD API endpoints
Automatic query chunking and parallel processing
CPE format validation
Comprehensive error handling