Shadow MCP — MCP servers or tool endpoints that agents use without platform approval — is a primary ASI04 gap in enterprise agent rollouts.
Blekline detects shadow MCP in two complementary paths:
1. Runtime inventory (Activity)
Operations → MCP inventory aggregates MCP servers from metadata-only Activity events:
downstreamServeron tool-call enforcement events- Client surface (
cursor,sdk,claude-code, …) - Platform labels from MCP live test and sidecar enforce
This is v1 shadow MCP detection — not a Konnect-class registry, but sufficient for pilot eval and SOC triage.
2. Cluster static discovery (nhim-audit)
@blekline/[nhim-audit](/docs/definitions/nhim-audit) discovers agent candidate workloads via labels, env keys (MCP_SERVER_URL, OPENAI_API_KEY), and images. Upload JSON to NHIM posture for fleet rollup and agent candidate tables.
npx @blekline/nhim-audit audit --profile generic --plain --json -o nhim-audit.json
Rules NHIM-001..019 map bypass paths including wide HTTPS egress (NHIM-014), hostNetwork (NHIM-019), and Auto-Route gaps.
Progressive response
| Phase | Action |
|---|---|
| Audit | Inventory shadow servers; no block |
| Warn | Mask / flag tool args; SIEM alert |
| Block | @blekline/mcp-proxy registry deny unknown servers + mandatory hop |
→ Progressive enforce · [MCP proxy](/docs/mcp/proxy)
Related
- Reference architecture
- [NHIM audit CLI](/docs/tools/nhim-audit)
- Compliance evidence