MCP revocation and active work

Revoking an OAuth grant or task authorization must affect future tool effects, including paused work.

01 / The operating case

What changes in a real workflow?

An operator removes a finance agent’s access while an MCP task is waiting for human input, then the task resumes.

Trace the authority boundary
  1. 01Client / task
  2. 02MCP server
  3. 03Tool call + arguments
  4. 04Downstream effect

02 / Decision contract

What the executor must check

Recheck issuer token state and task grant before consequential continuation; invalidate local decisions and define what happens to already-started effects.

InputPrincipal · task · action · target
DecisionGrant ancestry · policy · current state
ResultEnforce · record · verify outcome

03 / Failure and evidence

What goes wrong, and what can be proven?

Failure mode

A still-open session is treated as a continuing grant after the originating task is cancelled.

Evidence to retain

Record revocation time, session and task state, resumed call decision and any in-flight outcome.

04 / Canonical scope

Why this reference stands alone

General authority revocation covers the grant graph; this page covers MCP session and task continuation.

Protocol or attack trace

Resume after withdrawal

Sequence

Grant G is revoked while an MCP task waits for elicitation. Worker resumes later with an open session.

Negative test

Resume tools/call after G revocation; executor must deny the consequential step.

Primary references

Read the underlying material

Architecture discussion

Choose one consequential action and make its boundary explicit.

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