IntentMiner: Intent Inversion Attack via Tool Call Analysis in the Model Context Protocol

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Yao, Yunhao, Wang, Zhiqiang, Cheng, Haoran, Cheng, Yihang, Du, Haohua, Li, Xiang-Yang
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Yao, Yunhao
Wang, Zhiqiang
Cheng, Haoran
Cheng, Yihang
Du, Haohua
Li, Xiang-Yang
author_facet Yao, Yunhao
Wang, Zhiqiang
Cheng, Haoran
Cheng, Yihang
Du, Haohua
Li, Xiang-Yang
contents The evolution of Large Language Models (LLMs) into Agentic AI has established the Model Context Protocol (MCP) as the standard for connecting reasoning engines with external tools. Although this decoupled architecture fosters modularity, it simultaneously shatters the traditional trust boundary. We uncover a novel privacy vector inherent to this paradigm: the Intent Inversion Attack. We show that semi-honest third-party MCP servers can accurately reconstruct users' underlying intents by leveraging only authorized metadata (e.g., function signatures, arguments, and receipts), effectively bypassing the need for raw query access. To quantify this threat, we introduce IntentMiner. Unlike statistical approaches, IntentMiner employs a hierarchical semantic parsing strategy that performs step-level intent reconstruction by analyzing tool functions, parameter entities, and result feedback in an orthogonal manner. Experiments on the ToolACE benchmark reveal that IntentMiner achieves a semantic alignment of over 85% with original queries, substantially surpassing LLM baselines. This work exposes a critical endogenous vulnerability: without semantic obfuscation, executing functions requires the transparency of intent, thereby challenging the privacy foundations of next-generation AI agents.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_14166
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle IntentMiner: Intent Inversion Attack via Tool Call Analysis in the Model Context Protocol
Yao, Yunhao
Wang, Zhiqiang
Cheng, Haoran
Cheng, Yihang
Du, Haohua
Li, Xiang-Yang
Cryptography and Security
Artificial Intelligence
I.2.11; K.4.1
The evolution of Large Language Models (LLMs) into Agentic AI has established the Model Context Protocol (MCP) as the standard for connecting reasoning engines with external tools. Although this decoupled architecture fosters modularity, it simultaneously shatters the traditional trust boundary. We uncover a novel privacy vector inherent to this paradigm: the Intent Inversion Attack. We show that semi-honest third-party MCP servers can accurately reconstruct users' underlying intents by leveraging only authorized metadata (e.g., function signatures, arguments, and receipts), effectively bypassing the need for raw query access. To quantify this threat, we introduce IntentMiner. Unlike statistical approaches, IntentMiner employs a hierarchical semantic parsing strategy that performs step-level intent reconstruction by analyzing tool functions, parameter entities, and result feedback in an orthogonal manner. Experiments on the ToolACE benchmark reveal that IntentMiner achieves a semantic alignment of over 85% with original queries, substantially surpassing LLM baselines. This work exposes a critical endogenous vulnerability: without semantic obfuscation, executing functions requires the transparency of intent, thereby challenging the privacy foundations of next-generation AI agents.
title IntentMiner: Intent Inversion Attack via Tool Call Analysis in the Model Context Protocol
topic Cryptography and Security
Artificial Intelligence
I.2.11; K.4.1
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.14166