Security Reference

Security features, verification methods, and best practices for mcp-trino.

Secure Defaults

mcp-trino ships with secure defaults that protect against common issues:

Default	Value	Protection
Read-only mode	Enabled	Blocks INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE
Row limit	1000	Prevents excessive data retrieval
Query timeout	120s	Prevents runaway queries
SSL	Enabled	Encrypts data in transit
SSL verify	Enabled	Validates server certificates

---

Read-Only Mode

Read-only mode blocks write operations at the MCP server level, regardless of Trino permissions.

Blocked Statements

• INSERT
• UPDATE
• DELETE
• DROP
• CREATE
• ALTER
• TRUNCATE
• MERGE

Configuration

Enabled by default. To disable:

export MCP_TRINO_EXT_READONLY=false

Or in YAML:

extensions:
  readonly: false

When to Disable

Only disable read-only mode when:

• Users need to create/modify data
• Trino permissions are properly configured
• Audit logging is enabled

---

Query Limits

Row Limits

Parameter	Default	Maximum
limit	1000	10000

The row limit:

• Prevents accidentally retrieving millions of rows
• Can be overridden per-query up to maximum
• Returns truncated: true if more rows exist

Timeout Limits

Parameter	Default	Maximum
timeout_seconds	120	300

The timeout:

• Cancels queries that run too long
• Prevents resource exhaustion
• Returns error on timeout

Customizing Limits

cfg := tools.Config{
    DefaultLimit:   500,    // Lower default
    MaxLimit:       5000,   // Lower maximum
    DefaultTimeout: 60 * time.Second,
    MaxTimeout:     180 * time.Second,
}

---

SSL/TLS

Default Behavior

Host	SSL	SSL Verify
localhost	Off	-
127.0.0.1	Off	-
Remote	On	On

Configuration

# Force SSL
export TRINO_SSL=true
export TRINO_SSL_VERIFY=true

# Disable SSL (not recommended)
export TRINO_SSL=false

Certificate Verification

When TRINO_SSL_VERIFY=true:

• Server certificate must be valid
• Certificate chain must be trusted
• Hostname must match certificate

To disable verification (testing only):

export TRINO_SSL_VERIFY=false

⚠️ Never disable SSL verification in production.

---

Authentication

Basic Authentication

export TRINO_USER=analyst
export TRINO_PASSWORD=secret

The password is sent via HTTP Basic Auth over SSL.

Custom Authentication (Library)

For OAuth, API keys, or SSO, use middleware:

type OAuthMiddleware struct {
    config OAuthConfig
}

func (m *OAuthMiddleware) Before(ctx *ToolContext) error {
    token, err := m.getAccessToken(ctx)
    if err != nil {
        return fmt.Errorf("authentication failed: %w", err)
    }
    ctx.Set("access_token", token)
    return nil
}

---

Release Verification

All releases are signed and include provenance attestations.

Checksum Verification

Each release includes a checksums.txt file:

# Download
curl -LO https://github.com/txn2/mcp-trino/releases/latest/download/mcp-trino_Linux_x86_64.tar.gz
curl -LO https://github.com/txn2/mcp-trino/releases/latest/download/checksums.txt

# Verify
sha256sum --check checksums.txt

Cosign Signature Verification

Releases are signed with Cosign keyless signatures:

# Install cosign
brew install cosign

# Download signature bundle
curl -LO https://github.com/txn2/mcp-trino/releases/latest/download/mcp-trino_Linux_x86_64.tar.gz.sigstore.json

# Verify
cosign verify-blob \
  --bundle mcp-trino_Linux_x86_64.tar.gz.sigstore.json \
  --certificate-identity-regexp="https://github.com/txn2/mcp-trino" \
  --certificate-oidc-issuer="https://token.actions.githubusercontent.com" \
  mcp-trino_Linux_x86_64.tar.gz

SLSA Provenance

All releases include SLSA Level 3 provenance attestations:

# Download provenance
curl -LO https://github.com/txn2/mcp-trino/releases/latest/download/mcp-trino_Linux_x86_64.tar.gz.intoto.jsonl

# Verify with slsa-verifier
slsa-verifier verify-artifact \
  --provenance-path mcp-trino_Linux_x86_64.tar.gz.intoto.jsonl \
  --source-uri github.com/txn2/mcp-trino \
  mcp-trino_Linux_x86_64.tar.gz

SLSA Level 3 guarantees:

• Build process is tamper-resistant
• Provenance is non-falsifiable
• Source is version-controlled

---

Best Practices

Production Checklist

• Enable read-only mode
• Configure appropriate row limits
• Enable SSL with verification
• Use separate credentials per environment
• Enable audit logging
• Verify binary signatures before deployment

Credential Management

Do:

• Store credentials in environment variables
• Use secrets management (Vault, K8s Secrets)
• Use separate credentials per environment
• Rotate credentials regularly

Don't:

• Hardcode credentials in code
• Commit credentials to version control
• Share credentials between environments
• Use production credentials for development

Network Security

Do:

• Enable SSL/TLS
• Use private networks between MCP server and Trino
• Configure firewalls to limit access
• Use VPN for remote connections

Don't:

• Expose Trino directly to the internet
• Disable SSL verification
• Use unencrypted connections

Audit Logging

Enable audit logging for compliance:

export MCP_TRINO_EXT_LOGGING=true
export MCP_TRINO_EXT_QUERYLOG=true

Or use custom audit interceptor:

toolkit.AddInterceptor(&AuditLogInterceptor{
    output: auditFile,
    fields: []string{"user", "query", "timestamp"},
})

---

Threat Model

What mcp-trino Protects Against

Threat	Protection
Accidental data modification	Read-only mode
Excessive data retrieval	Row limits
Resource exhaustion	Query timeouts
Man-in-the-middle	SSL/TLS
Tampered binaries	Cosign signatures
Supply chain attacks	SLSA provenance

What Requires Additional Protection

Threat	Required Measure
Unauthorized access	Trino authentication + custom middleware
SQL injection	Parameterized queries in application
Data exfiltration	Trino column masking + data governance
Privilege escalation	Trino role-based access control

---

Compliance

SOC 2

For SOC 2 compliance:

• Enable audit logging (MCP_TRINO_EXT_LOGGING=true)
• Enable query logging (MCP_TRINO_EXT_QUERYLOG=true)
• Implement access controls via middleware
• Retain logs per retention policy

HIPAA

For HIPAA compliance:

• Enable SSL with verification
• Implement data redaction transformer
• Configure audit logging
• Ensure proper access controls in Trino

GDPR

For GDPR compliance:

• Implement data redaction for PII
• Configure tenant isolation
• Enable audit logging
• Ensure data residency requirements