Line Jumping
Malicious inputs trick agents into skipping validation steps and jumping directly to sensitive tool execution.
Definition
Line Jumping is an attack on the input layer of the Model Context Protocol (MCP). It exploits how tools are ranked, sorted, or invoked by agents based on internal logic or metadata. Attackers manipulate tool descriptions or context to push malicious tools ahead of legitimate ones, gaining control over execution pathways without explicit permission.
This type of attack lives in the input layer of the MCP model, manipulating how tools are queued or prioritized before being invoked.
How Akto MCP Security Helps
Akto prevents Line Jumping by enforcing strict validation of tool selection and invocation logic. It monitors how agents score and rank tools based on context, ensuring execution only occurs in the intended order. Akto flags any unexpected jumps in tool prioritization, runs test cases that simulate score manipulation attacks, and blocks tools that are invoked without fulfilling required conditions. This ensures malicious tools cannot skip ahead of safer alternatives in the decision chain.
