feat: add configurable IP allow-list for remote MCP access

Enable non-localhost connections by specifying allowed IPs/CIDRs in
settings (e.g., 100.64.0.0/10 for Tailscale). Server auto-binds to
0.0.0.0 when remote IPs are configured, with three-layer validation
(source IP, CORS, host header) plus mandatory Bearer token auth.

src/server/mcp-server.ts

@@ -101,7 +101,8 @@ export class MCPServer {
 	public async start(): Promise<void> {
 		return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
 			try {
-				this.server = this.app.listen(this.settings.port, '127.0.0.1', () => {
+				const bindAddress = this.settings.allowedIPs?.trim() ? '0.0.0.0' : '127.0.0.1';
+				this.server = this.app.listen(this.settings.port, bindAddress, () => {
 					resolve();
 				});
 

src/server/middleware.ts

@@ -3,12 +3,24 @@ import express from 'express';
 import cors from 'cors';
 import { MCPServerSettings } from '../types/settings-types';
 import { ErrorCodes, JSONRPCResponse } from '../types/mcp-types';
+import { parseAllowedIPs, isIPAllowed } from '../utils/network-utils';
 
 export function setupMiddleware(app: Express, settings: MCPServerSettings, createErrorResponse: (id: string | number | null, code: number, message: string) => JSONRPCResponse): void {
+	const allowList = parseAllowedIPs(settings.allowedIPs);
+
 	// Parse JSON bodies
 	app.use(express.json());
 
-	// CORS configuration - Always enabled with fixed localhost-only policy
+	// Source IP validation - reject connections from unlisted IPs before any other checks
+	app.use((req: Request, res: Response, next: NextFunction) => {
+		const remoteAddress = req.socket.remoteAddress;
+		if (remoteAddress && !isIPAllowed(remoteAddress, allowList)) {
+			return res.status(403).json(createErrorResponse(null, ErrorCodes.InvalidRequest, 'Connection from this IP is not allowed'));
+		}
+		next();
+	});
+
+	// CORS configuration
 	const corsOptions = {
 		origin: (origin: string | undefined, callback: (err: Error | null, allow?: boolean) => void) => {
 			// Allow requests with no origin (like CLI clients, curl, MCP SDKs)
@@ -19,10 +31,22 @@ export function setupMiddleware(app: Express, settings: MCPServerSettings, creat
 			// Allow localhost and 127.0.0.1 on any port, both HTTP and HTTPS
 			const localhostRegex = /^https?:\/\/(localhost|127\.0\.0\.1)(:\d+)?$/;
 			if (localhostRegex.test(origin)) {
-				callback(null, true);
+				return callback(null, true);
-			} else {
-				callback(new Error('Not allowed by CORS'));
 			}
+
+			// Check if origin hostname is in the allow-list
+			if (allowList.length > 0) {
+				try {
+					const url = new URL(origin);
+					if (isIPAllowed(url.hostname, allowList)) {
+						return callback(null, true);
+					}
+				} catch {
+					// Invalid origin URL, fall through to reject
+				}
+			}
+
+			callback(new Error('Not allowed by CORS'));
 		},
 		credentials: true
 	};
@@ -44,15 +68,27 @@ export function setupMiddleware(app: Express, settings: MCPServerSettings, creat
 		next();
 	});
 
-	// Origin validation for security (DNS rebinding protection)
+	// Host header validation for security (DNS rebinding protection)
 	app.use((req: Request, res: Response, next: NextFunction) => {
 		const host = req.headers.host;
 
-		// Only allow localhost connections
+		if (!host) {
-		if (host && !host.startsWith('localhost') && !host.startsWith('127.0.0.1')) {
+			return next();
-			return res.status(403).json(createErrorResponse(null, ErrorCodes.InvalidRequest, 'Only localhost connections allowed'));
 		}
 
-		next();
+		// Strip port from host header
+		const hostname = host.split(':')[0];
+
+		// Always allow localhost
+		if (hostname === 'localhost' || hostname === '127.0.0.1') {
+			return next();
+		}
+
+		// Check against allow-list
+		if (allowList.length > 0 && isIPAllowed(hostname, allowList)) {
+			return next();
+		}
+
+		return res.status(403).json(createErrorResponse(null, ErrorCodes.InvalidRequest, 'Connection from this host is not allowed'));
 	});
 }

src/settings.ts

@@ -138,9 +138,10 @@ export class MCPServerSettingTab extends PluginSettingTab {
 		const statusEl = containerEl.createEl('div', {cls: 'mcp-server-status'});
 		const isRunning = this.plugin.mcpServer?.isRunning() ?? false;
 
+		const bindAddress = this.plugin.settings.allowedIPs?.trim() ? '0.0.0.0' : '127.0.0.1';
 		statusEl.createEl('p', {
 			text: isRunning
-				? `✅ Running on http://127.0.0.1:${this.plugin.settings.port}/mcp`
+				? `✅ Running on http://${bindAddress}:${this.plugin.settings.port}/mcp`
 				: '⭕ Stopped'
 		});
 
@@ -203,6 +204,29 @@ export class MCPServerSettingTab extends PluginSettingTab {
 					}
 				}));
 
+		// Allowed IPs setting
+		new Setting(containerEl)
+			.setName('Allowed IPs')
+			.setDesc('Comma-separated IPs or CIDR ranges allowed to connect remotely (e.g., 100.64.0.0/10, 192.168.1.50). Leave empty for localhost only. Restart required.')
+			.addText(text => text
+				.setPlaceholder('100.64.0.0/10, 192.168.1.0/24')
+				.setValue(this.plugin.settings.allowedIPs)
+				.onChange(async (value) => {
+					this.plugin.settings.allowedIPs = value;
+					await this.plugin.saveSettings();
+					if (this.plugin.mcpServer?.isRunning()) {
+						new Notice('⚠️ Server restart required for allowed IPs changes to take effect');
+					}
+				}));
+
+		// Security note when remote access is enabled
+		if (this.plugin.settings.allowedIPs?.trim()) {
+			const securityNote = containerEl.createEl('div', {cls: 'mcp-security-note'});
+			securityNote.createEl('p', {
+				text: '⚠️ Server is accessible from non-localhost IPs. Ensure your API key is kept secure.'
+			});
+		}
+
 		// Authentication (Always Enabled)
 		const authDetails = containerEl.createEl('details', {cls: 'mcp-auth-section'});
 		const authSummary = authDetails.createEl('summary', {cls: 'mcp-auth-summary'});

src/types/settings-types.ts

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ export interface MCPServerSettings {
 	port: number;
 	apiKey: string; // Now required, not optional
 	enableAuth: boolean; // Will be removed in future, kept for migration
+	allowedIPs: string; // Comma-separated IPs/CIDRs allowed to connect remotely
 }
 
 export interface NotificationSettings {
@@ -20,6 +21,7 @@ export const DEFAULT_SETTINGS: MCPPluginSettings = {
 	port: 3000,
 	apiKey: '', // Will be auto-generated on first load
 	enableAuth: true, // Always true now
+	allowedIPs: '', // Empty = localhost only
 	autoStart: false,
 	// Notification defaults
 	notificationsEnabled: false,

src/utils/network-utils.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+export interface AllowedIPEntry {
+	type: 'ip' | 'cidr';
+	ip: number; // 32-bit numeric IPv4
+	mask: number; // 32-bit subnet mask (only for CIDR)
+}
+
+/**
+ * Convert dotted IPv4 string to 32-bit number.
+ * Returns null if invalid.
+ */
+function ipToNumber(ip: string): number | null {
+	const parts = ip.split('.');
+	if (parts.length !== 4) return null;
+	let num = 0;
+	for (const part of parts) {
+		const octet = parseInt(part, 10);
+		if (isNaN(octet) || octet < 0 || octet > 255) return null;
+		num = (num << 8) | octet;
+	}
+	return num >>> 0; // Ensure unsigned
+}
+
+/**
+ * Strip IPv4-mapped IPv6 prefix (::ffff:) if present.
+ */
+function normalizeIP(ip: string): string {
+	if (ip.startsWith('::ffff:')) {
+		return ip.slice(7);
+	}
+	return ip;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Parse a comma-separated string of IPs and CIDRs into structured entries.
+ * Invalid entries are silently skipped.
+ */
+export function parseAllowedIPs(setting: string): AllowedIPEntry[] {
+	if (!setting || !setting.trim()) return [];
+
+	const entries: AllowedIPEntry[] = [];
+	for (const raw of setting.split(',')) {
+		const trimmed = raw.trim();
+		if (!trimmed) continue;
+
+		if (trimmed.includes('/')) {
+			const [ipStr, prefixStr] = trimmed.split('/');
+			const ip = ipToNumber(ipStr);
+			const prefix = parseInt(prefixStr, 10);
+			if (ip === null || isNaN(prefix) || prefix < 0 || prefix > 32) continue;
+			const mask = prefix === 0 ? 0 : (~0 << (32 - prefix)) >>> 0;
+			entries.push({ type: 'cidr', ip: (ip & mask) >>> 0, mask });
+		} else {
+			const ip = ipToNumber(trimmed);
+			if (ip === null) continue;
+			entries.push({ type: 'ip', ip, mask: 0xFFFFFFFF });
+		}
+	}
+	return entries;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Check if an IP address is allowed by the given allow-list.
+ * Localhost (127.0.0.1) is always allowed.
+ */
+export function isIPAllowed(ip: string, allowList: AllowedIPEntry[]): boolean {
+	const normalized = normalizeIP(ip);
+
+	// Localhost is always allowed
+	if (normalized === '127.0.0.1' || normalized === 'localhost') return true;
+
+	if (allowList.length === 0) return false;
+
+	const num = ipToNumber(normalized);
+	if (num === null) return false;
+
+	for (const entry of allowList) {
+		if (entry.type === 'ip') {
+			if (num === entry.ip) return true;
+		} else {
+			if (((num & entry.mask) >>> 0) === entry.ip) return true;
+		}
+	}
+	return false;
+}

tests/network-utils.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,141 @@
+/**
+ * Unit tests for network-utils
+ */
+
+import { parseAllowedIPs, isIPAllowed, AllowedIPEntry } from '../src/utils/network-utils';
+
+describe('parseAllowedIPs', () => {
+	test('should return empty array for empty string', () => {
+		expect(parseAllowedIPs('')).toEqual([]);
+	});
+
+	test('should return empty array for whitespace-only string', () => {
+		expect(parseAllowedIPs('   ')).toEqual([]);
+	});
+
+	test('should parse a single IP', () => {
+		const result = parseAllowedIPs('192.168.1.1');
+		expect(result).toHaveLength(1);
+		expect(result[0].type).toBe('ip');
+	});
+
+	test('should parse multiple comma-separated IPs', () => {
+		const result = parseAllowedIPs('192.168.1.1, 10.0.0.5');
+		expect(result).toHaveLength(2);
+	});
+
+	test('should parse CIDR notation', () => {
+		const result = parseAllowedIPs('100.64.0.0/10');
+		expect(result).toHaveLength(1);
+		expect(result[0].type).toBe('cidr');
+	});
+
+	test('should parse mixed IPs and CIDRs', () => {
+		const result = parseAllowedIPs('192.168.1.1, 10.0.0.0/8, 172.16.0.5');
+		expect(result).toHaveLength(3);
+		expect(result[0].type).toBe('ip');
+		expect(result[1].type).toBe('cidr');
+		expect(result[2].type).toBe('ip');
+	});
+
+	test('should handle extra whitespace', () => {
+		const result = parseAllowedIPs('  192.168.1.1 ,  10.0.0.5  ');
+		expect(result).toHaveLength(2);
+	});
+
+	test('should skip invalid entries', () => {
+		const result = parseAllowedIPs('192.168.1.1, invalid, 10.0.0.5');
+		expect(result).toHaveLength(2);
+	});
+
+	test('should skip invalid CIDR prefix', () => {
+		const result = parseAllowedIPs('10.0.0.0/33');
+		expect(result).toHaveLength(0);
+	});
+
+	test('should skip entries with invalid octets', () => {
+		const result = parseAllowedIPs('256.0.0.1');
+		expect(result).toHaveLength(0);
+	});
+
+	test('should handle trailing commas', () => {
+		const result = parseAllowedIPs('192.168.1.1,');
+		expect(result).toHaveLength(1);
+	});
+});
+
+describe('isIPAllowed', () => {
+	test('should always allow 127.0.0.1 with empty list', () => {
+		expect(isIPAllowed('127.0.0.1', [])).toBe(true);
+	});
+
+	test('should always allow localhost with empty list', () => {
+		expect(isIPAllowed('localhost', [])).toBe(true);
+	});
+
+	test('should always allow IPv4-mapped localhost', () => {
+		expect(isIPAllowed('::ffff:127.0.0.1', [])).toBe(true);
+	});
+
+	test('should reject non-localhost with empty list', () => {
+		expect(isIPAllowed('192.168.1.1', [])).toBe(false);
+	});
+
+	test('should match exact IP', () => {
+		const allowList = parseAllowedIPs('192.168.1.50');
+		expect(isIPAllowed('192.168.1.50', allowList)).toBe(true);
+		expect(isIPAllowed('192.168.1.51', allowList)).toBe(false);
+	});
+
+	test('should match CIDR range', () => {
+		const allowList = parseAllowedIPs('10.0.0.0/8');
+		expect(isIPAllowed('10.0.0.1', allowList)).toBe(true);
+		expect(isIPAllowed('10.255.255.255', allowList)).toBe(true);
+		expect(isIPAllowed('11.0.0.1', allowList)).toBe(false);
+	});
+
+	test('should match Tailscale CGNAT range (100.64.0.0/10)', () => {
+		const allowList = parseAllowedIPs('100.64.0.0/10');
+		expect(isIPAllowed('100.64.0.1', allowList)).toBe(true);
+		expect(isIPAllowed('100.100.50.25', allowList)).toBe(true);
+		expect(isIPAllowed('100.127.255.255', allowList)).toBe(true);
+		expect(isIPAllowed('100.128.0.0', allowList)).toBe(false);
+		expect(isIPAllowed('100.63.255.255', allowList)).toBe(false);
+	});
+
+	test('should handle IPv4-mapped IPv6 addresses', () => {
+		const allowList = parseAllowedIPs('192.168.1.50');
+		expect(isIPAllowed('::ffff:192.168.1.50', allowList)).toBe(true);
+		expect(isIPAllowed('::ffff:192.168.1.51', allowList)).toBe(false);
+	});
+
+	test('should handle IPv4-mapped IPv6 with CIDR', () => {
+		const allowList = parseAllowedIPs('10.0.0.0/8');
+		expect(isIPAllowed('::ffff:10.5.3.1', allowList)).toBe(true);
+		expect(isIPAllowed('::ffff:11.0.0.1', allowList)).toBe(false);
+	});
+
+	test('should match against multiple entries', () => {
+		const allowList = parseAllowedIPs('192.168.1.0/24, 10.0.0.5');
+		expect(isIPAllowed('192.168.1.100', allowList)).toBe(true);
+		expect(isIPAllowed('10.0.0.5', allowList)).toBe(true);
+		expect(isIPAllowed('10.0.0.6', allowList)).toBe(false);
+	});
+
+	test('should handle /32 CIDR as single IP', () => {
+		const allowList = parseAllowedIPs('192.168.1.1/32');
+		expect(isIPAllowed('192.168.1.1', allowList)).toBe(true);
+		expect(isIPAllowed('192.168.1.2', allowList)).toBe(false);
+	});
+
+	test('should handle /0 CIDR as allow-all', () => {
+		const allowList = parseAllowedIPs('0.0.0.0/0');
+		expect(isIPAllowed('1.2.3.4', allowList)).toBe(true);
+		expect(isIPAllowed('255.255.255.255', allowList)).toBe(true);
+	});
+
+	test('should return false for invalid IP input', () => {
+		const allowList = parseAllowedIPs('10.0.0.0/8');
+		expect(isIPAllowed('not-an-ip', allowList)).toBe(false);
+	});
+});