KQL/Kusto Pipe-Chain Injection via Table-Name Parameter in a 'Safe' Metadata Tool

Detects a table/database identifier parameter (table_name, table, database_name) whose value breaks out of its expected bare-identifier shape with a Kusto Query Language (KQL) pipe operator chaining into a projection/sampling clause, or a management command (.drop, .alter, .delete, .purge) injected via a newline. Ordinary table_name values are short bare identifiers (e.g. "orders", "audit_log") with no pipe characters or KQL keywords; a value containing "| project ... | take N" is the Kusto-language equivalent of a classic SQL injection payload, generalized to the pipe-based query syntax used by Azure Data Explorer/Kusto-backed agent tools. Mined from GHSA-vphc-468g-8rfp (pab1it0/adx-mcp-server, CVE-2026-33980): "The table_name parameter is interpolated directly into KQL queries via f-strings without any validation or sanitization, allowing an attacker (or a prompt-injected AI agent) to execute arbitrary KQL queries... An attacker can inject: sensitive_table | project Secret, Password | take 100 // to read arbitrary tables [or] newline-separated management commands like .drop table important_data." The three affected tools (get_table_schema, sample_table_data, get_table_details) were presented to MCP clients as safe metadata-inspection tools distinct from the server's own raw-KQL execute_query tool, so clients may auto-approve them while requiring confirmation for execute_query -- the injection bypasses that trust boundary. Deliberately distinct from ATR-2026-00570 (generic relational SQL injection targeting OR/UNION/SELECT) and ATR-2026-02143 (Cypher/graph query injection targeting MATCH/MERGE/DETACH DELETE), since KQL's pipe-chained, whitespace-separated verb syntax shares no keyword vocabulary with either.

Response Actions

References

1. 01

   table/database identifier value breaks out with a KQL pipe into a project clause chained into a take/limit/sample clause -- the disclosed data-exfiltration shape

   field: contentop: regex
2. 02

   table/database identifier value carries a newline-injected Kusto management command (.drop/.alter/.delete/.purge table|database)

   field: contentop: regex

Attack Examples (Rule Triggers)

1. get_table_schema(table_name="sensitive_data | project Secret, Password | take 100 //")

2. {"table_name": "orders | project CreditCardNumber | sample 50"}

3. get_table_details(table_name="users\n.drop table important_data")

4. sample_table_data(database_name="prod\n.purge table audit_log")

Real-world attack payloads, sanitized and versioned alongside the rule as regression tests — so a future revision can't silently stop catching them.

Benign Examples (Rule Doesn't Trigger)

1. Ordinary plain-identifier table_name value

   get_table_schema(table_name="orders")

2. Ordinary plain-identifier database_name value

   {"database_name": "production_analytics"}

3. Table display label containing a pipe character but no project+take/limit/sample chain following it

   get_table_details(table_name="Revenue | Cost Summary")

4. Documentation describing the vulnerability class with example payload text, not an actual tool-call argument

   The advisory shows table_name interpolated directly into a KQL query without validation, e.g. table_name | getschema.

Known False Positive Contexts

• ▸Ordinary table_name/database_name values that are plain bare identifiers (orders, audit_log, users) with no pipe characters or KQL keywords
• ▸A table_name value that happens to contain a literal pipe character as part of a legitimate display label, without a following project+take/limit/sample chain
• ▸Documentation describing the KQL injection vulnerability class using example payloads in prose, not an actual tool-call argument being set

title: "KQL/Kusto Pipe-Chain Injection via Table-Name Parameter in a 'Safe' Metadata Tool"
id: ATR-2026-02303
rule_version: 1
status: experimental
description: >
  Detects a table/database identifier parameter (table_name, table,
  database_name) whose value breaks out of its expected bare-identifier
  shape with a Kusto Query Language (KQL) pipe operator chaining into a
  projection/sampling clause, or a management command (.drop, .alter,
  .delete, .purge) injected via a newline. Ordinary table_name values are
  short bare identifiers (e.g. "orders", "audit_log") with no pipe
  characters or KQL keywords; a value containing "| project ... | take N"
  is the Kusto-language equivalent of a classic SQL injection payload,
  generalized to the pipe-based query syntax used by Azure Data
  Explorer/Kusto-backed agent tools. Mined from GHSA-vphc-468g-8rfp
  (pab1it0/adx-mcp-server, CVE-2026-33980): "The table_name parameter is
  interpolated directly into KQL queries via f-strings without any
  validation or sanitization, allowing an attacker (or a prompt-injected AI
  agent) to execute arbitrary KQL queries... An attacker can inject:
  sensitive_table | project Secret, Password | take 100 // to read
  arbitrary tables [or] newline-separated management commands like .drop
  table important_data." The three affected tools (get_table_schema,
  sample_table_data, get_table_details) were presented to MCP clients as
  safe metadata-inspection tools distinct from the server's own raw-KQL
  execute_query tool, so clients may auto-approve them while requiring
  confirmation for execute_query -- the injection bypasses that trust
  boundary. Deliberately distinct from ATR-2026-00570 (generic relational
  SQL injection targeting OR/UNION/SELECT) and ATR-2026-02143 (Cypher/graph
  query injection targeting MATCH/MERGE/DETACH DELETE), since KQL's
  pipe-chained, whitespace-separated verb syntax shares no keyword
  vocabulary with either.
author: "ATR Community (CVE sweep)"
date: "2026/07/11"
schema_version: "0.1"
detection_tier: pattern
maturity: experimental
severity: high

references:
  cve:
    - "CVE-2026-33980"
  cwe:
    - "CWE-943"
  owasp_llm:
    - "LLM01:2025 - Prompt Injection"
  owasp_agentic:
    - "ASI02:2026 - Tool Misuse and Exploitation"
  mitre_attack:
    - "T1565.001 - Data Manipulation: Stored Data Manipulation"
  mitre_atlas:
    - "AML.T0053 - LLM Plugin Compromise"
  external:
    - "https://github.com/pab1it0/adx-mcp-server/security/advisories/GHSA-vphc-468g-8rfp"

metadata_provenance:
  cve: human-reviewed
  cwe: human-reviewed
  owasp_llm: human-reviewed
  owasp_agentic: human-reviewed
  mitre_attack: human-reviewed
  mitre_atlas: human-reviewed

compliance:
  eu_ai_act:
    - article: "15"
      context: "Article 15 (accuracy, robustness and cybersecurity) requires high-risk AI systems to resist unauthorised attempts to alter their behaviour or environment; this rule detects a KQL/Kusto pipe-chain injection through an agent tool's table_name parameter."
      strength: primary
    - article: "10"
      context: "Article 10 (data and data governance) requires control over the data an AI system processes; this rule detects tampering with the integrity/confidentiality of the queried data store via query injection."
      strength: secondary
  nist_ai_rmf:
    - subcategory: "MG.2.3"
      context: "Treating KQL pipe-chain injection as an identified AI risk requires active runtime countermeasures; this detection rule is the primary risk treatment implementation."
      strength: primary
    - subcategory: "MP.5.1"
      context: "Identifying table_name-based KQL injection as an AI risk to be catalogued in the organizational risk register."
      strength: secondary
  iso_42001:
    - clause: "8.1"
      context: "ISO/IEC 42001 Clause 8.1 (operational planning and control) is operationalised by this rule's detection of KQL/Kusto pipe-chain injection attempts."
      strength: primary
    - clause: "8.3"
      context: "ISO/IEC 42001 Clause 8.3 (AI risk treatment) is implemented via this rule's runtime detection of the injection attempt."
      strength: secondary

tags:
  category: data-poisoning
  subcategory: kql-pipe-injection
  scan_target: mcp
  confidence: medium

agent_source:
  type: llm_io
  framework:
    - any
  provider:
    - any

detection:
  condition: any
  conditions:
    - field: content
      operator: regex
      value: '(?i)\b(?:table_name|table|database_name)\b"?\s*[=:]\s*["\x27][^"\x27\n]{0,40}?\|\s*project\b[^"\x27\n]{0,40}?\|\s*(?:take|limit|sample)\b'
      description: "table/database identifier value breaks out with a KQL pipe into a project clause chained into a take/limit/sample clause -- the disclosed data-exfiltration shape"
    - field: content
      operator: regex
      value: '(?i)\b(?:table_name|table|database_name)\b"?\s*[=:]\s*["\x27][^"\x27]{0,40}?(?:\\n|\n)\s*\.(?:drop|alter|delete|purge)\s+(?:table|database)\b'
      description: "table/database identifier value carries a newline-injected Kusto management command (.drop/.alter/.delete/.purge table|database)"
  false_positives:
    - "Ordinary table_name/database_name values that are plain bare identifiers (orders, audit_log, users) with no pipe characters or KQL keywords"
    - "A table_name value that happens to contain a literal pipe character as part of a legitimate display label, without a following project+take/limit/sample chain"
    - "Documentation describing the KQL injection vulnerability class using example payloads in prose, not an actual tool-call argument being set"

response:
  actions:
    - block_input
    - alert
  message_template: >
    [ATR-2026-02303] table_name/database_name parameter contains a KQL
    pipe-chain or management-command injection -- treat as an attempted
    Kusto query injection, not a normal table identifier.

confidence: 74
wild_fp_rate: 0

test_cases:
  true_positives:
    - input: 'get_table_schema(table_name="sensitive_data | project Secret, Password | take 100 //")'
      expected: triggered
      description: "GHSA-vphc-468g-8rfp PoC - KQL pipe-chain injection via table_name exfiltrating a different table's columns"
    - input: '{"table_name": "orders | project CreditCardNumber | sample 50"}'
      expected: triggered
      description: "Paraphrased variant using the sample clause instead of take"
    - input: 'get_table_details(table_name="users\n.drop table important_data")'
      expected: triggered
      description: "GHSA-vphc-468g-8rfp PoC - newline-injected .drop table management command via table_name"
    - input: 'sample_table_data(database_name="prod\n.purge table audit_log")'
      expected: triggered
      description: "Paraphrased variant targeting database_name with a .purge management command"
  true_negatives:
    - input: 'get_table_schema(table_name="orders")'
      expected: not_triggered
      description: "Ordinary plain-identifier table_name value"
    - input: '{"database_name": "production_analytics"}'
      expected: not_triggered
      description: "Ordinary plain-identifier database_name value"
    - input: 'get_table_details(table_name="Revenue | Cost Summary")'
      expected: not_triggered
      description: "Table display label containing a pipe character but no project+take/limit/sample chain following it"
    - input: "The advisory shows table_name interpolated directly into a KQL query without validation, e.g. table_name | getschema."
      expected: not_triggered
      description: "Documentation describing the vulnerability class with example payload text, not an actual tool-call argument"