Grades are a hygiene check, not a security guarantee.

MCP, MCP server

Scholar Search Mcp

An MCP server for academic literature workflows in Claude, Cursor, and other MCP clients.

Compatibility: Not stated.

Grade B

Minor issues only, no Medium or High. Worth a quick look at the findings below before installing.

Graded by PlugVetRubric v2

Not a guarantee. A hygiene check of the source at the commit shown, not a security audit.

Rescanned at commit 1392e7e6f483, unchanged since the check below.

PERMISSION_DELETE_FILES INSTALL_UNPINNED NETWORK_NO_FIXED_HOST SECRETS_PATH_DOTENV SECRETS_ENV_READ

Why this grade

  • PERMISSION_DELETE_FILES Low

    Contains a call that can delete files.

    scholar_search_mcp/server.py, line 144 shutil.rmtree(extract_root)

  • INSTALL_UNPINNED Low

    Dependencies use a range or git URL with no lockfile.

    requirements.txt, line 1 mcp>=0.9.0

  • NETWORK_NO_FIXED_HOST Low

    Makes a network call whose host is not written as a fixed address.

    scholar_search_mcp/server.py, line 864 logger.info("search_papers: %s failed in parallel fetch (%s)", source, task_result)

  • SECRETS_PATH_DOTENV Low

    Mentions a .env file.

    .gitignore, line 51 .env

  • SECRETS_ENV_READ Note

    Reads an environment variable whose name contains KEY, SECRET, TOKEN, PASSWORD or CREDENTIAL.

    scholar_search_mcp/server.py, line 503 api_key = os.environ.get("SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY")

Any High, or two or more Medium findings, give D. One Medium gives C. Low findings or a security Note give B. Each code names a finding behind the letter.

Grades are a hygiene check of the source at the commit shown, on the date checked, not a security audit or a guarantee. The free directory grades are automated. Before release, a PlugVet engineer reviews every paid report and any grade we hold back, including all F grades, against the source code and the evidence we quote.

What was checked

Plain notes from the hygiene checks.

  • Permissions

    Concern

    can delete files.

    PERMISSION_DELETE_FILES

    scholar_search_mcp/server.py, line 144

    shutil.rmtree(extract_root)

  • Install and update

    Concern

    dependencies are not pinned.

    INSTALL_UNPINNED

    requirements.txt, line 1

    mcp>=0.9.0

  • Network

    Concern

    can reach a host that is not written as a fixed address.

    NETWORK_NO_FIXED_HOST

    scholar_search_mcp/server.py, line 864

    logger.info("search_papers: %s failed in parallel fetch (%s)", source, task_result)

  • Secrets

    Concern

    reads a credential or environment file.

    SECRETS_ENV_READ SECRETS_PATH_DOTENV

    scholar_search_mcp/server.py, line 503

    api_key = os.environ.get("SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY")

    .gitignore, line 50

    # Environment variables

    .gitignore, line 51

    .env

  • Agent instructions

    Pass

    No instruction to ignore earlier instructions or to hide a step.

  • Obfuscation

    Pass

    No encoded or minified payload found.

  • Licence

    Pass

    A licence file is present (LICENSE).

  • Maintainer activity

    Pass

    The latest commit is within the last 365 days.

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Note

Hygiene check of commit 1392e7e6f483. can delete files. dependencies are not pinned. can reach a host that is not written as a fixed address. reads a credential or environment file.

Date and source

Date checked:

View source

github.com

Commit graded: 1392e7e6f483bb2fdbef42e37610b82620612ee7

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Read how this letter is chosen