Shodan MCP Server
Shodan MCP server enabling AI agents to query Shodan's internet intelligence platform — searching for exposed services, vulnerable devices, open ports, and network intelligence across the public internet for security research and threat detection.
Score Breakdown
⚙ Agent Friendliness
🔒 Security
HTTPS enforced. API key lacks scopes. Community MCP. Use for authorized security research only.
⚡ Reliability
Best When
An agent needs internet-wide intelligence about exposed services, vulnerable devices, or attack surface — for authorized security research or organizational risk management.
Avoid When
You're using Censys or another internet scanning platform — or if target systems are on private networks.
Use Cases
- • Discovering exposed services and open ports from security assessment agents
- • Checking if organizational IPs have exposed vulnerabilities from threat intel agents
- • Identifying IoT and OT devices exposed to the internet from security audit agents
- • Gathering threat intelligence about adversary infrastructure from SOC agents
- • Monitoring for newly exposed organizational assets from attack surface agents
- • Researching CVE exposure across internet-facing systems
Not For
- • Unauthorized reconnaissance of systems you don't own
- • Teams using Censys, Fofa, or other internet scanning platforms
- • Internal network scanning (Shodan only scans public internet)
Interface
Authentication
Shodan API key with account-level access. Free accounts have limited query credits. No scope granularity.
Pricing
API key included with Shodan membership. Query credits consumed per search. Free plan very limited. Business membership for production use.
Agent Metadata
Known Gotchas
- ⚠ Query credits are consumed per search — agents must be conservative with searches
- ⚠ Shodan data has lag (hours to days) — not real-time
- ⚠ Shodan Search Language (SSL) has specific syntax for filters
- ⚠ Free accounts severely limited — business or enterprise needed for production use
- ⚠ Export functionality requires higher-tier plan
- ⚠ Some queries require academic or commercial justification to Shodan
Alternatives
Full Evaluation Report
Detailed scoring breakdown, competitive positioning, security analysis, and improvement recommendations for Shodan MCP Server.
Scores are editorial opinions as of 2026-03-06.