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Interview question · Software, Data & Model Supply Chain

How would you vet a third-party MCP server or agent plugin before allowing it?

An MCP server is code you run or trust, plus text your model reads. The scored answer reviews who wrote it, what it can reach, what its tool descriptions say, and pins it so it cannot change silently.

mediumNewPreparation tags: Anthropic, Microsoft, GoogleUpdated Nov 2026

An MCP server is code you run or trust, plus text your model reads. The scored answer reviews who wrote it, what it can reach, what its tool descriptions say, and pins it so it cannot change silently.

Make your first attempt

What would you say before reading the answer?

  1. 01 State the assumptions your answer depends on.
  2. 02 Explain the mechanism and choose a control.
  3. 03 Name a condition that would change your decision.

The worked answer includes an approach, scoring criteria and follow-up questions. Compare the reasoning with your own.

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What if · the follow-ups in this answer

The answer works through 6 follow-ups like an interviewer would

A team wants to install a third-party MCP server so its assistant can create and update tasks in a project management tool used across the company.

  1. Why is an MCP server both a dependency and an instruction source?
  2. What do you vet about the publisher and code?
  3. What permissions does it need?
  4. What if the tool descriptions change after approval?
  5. How do you manage servers across the company?
  6. What would your vetting and control process be?

Each rung has a nudge, a model answer, the principle that carries over and the weak answer to avoid. Premium opens every answer and ladder.

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