RegisteredTool.update() crashes with ZodObject inputSchema (passthrough schemas)

Start with the _createRegisteredTool update path, getZodSchemaObject(), and objectFromShape(), comparing update behavior with the create path. Reproduce the failure using the passthrough ZodObject example, then verify that updating paramsSchema works for both ZodObject instances and raw shapes without the null _zod error.

Description

RegisteredTool.update() crashes when paramsSchema is a ZodObject instance (e.g. z.object({...}).passthrough()) instead of a raw shape (Record<string, ZodType>).

The error:

TypeError: Cannot read properties of null (reading '_zod')

Root cause

The create path in _createRegisteredTool uses getZodSchemaObject(inputSchema) which correctly handles both raw shapes and ZodObject instances:

function getZodSchemaObject(schema) {
    if (!schema) return undefined;
    if (isZodRawShapeCompat(schema)) return objectFromShape(schema); // raw shape
    return schema; // ZodObject — pass through
}

But the update path calls objectFromShape() directly:

update: updates => {
    if (typeof updates.paramsSchema !== 'undefined')
        registeredTool.inputSchema = objectFromShape(updates.paramsSchema);
}

objectFromShape expects a raw shape and calls Object.values(shape). When given a Zod v3 ZodObject, Object.values() iterates all own enumerable properties — including internal ones like _cached which is null. This leads to isZ4Schema(null) which accesses null._zod and throws.

Type inconsistency

The types reflect the same inconsistency:

• registerTool accepts inputSchema?: InputArgs where InputArgs extends undefined | ZodRawShapeCompat | AnySchema — ZodObject is supported
• RegisteredTool.update() types paramsSchema?: InputArgs where InputArgs extends ZodRawShapeCompat — only raw shapes

Reproduction

const { z } = require('zod');

const schema = z.object({
    id: z.string(),
    property: z.string().optional(),
}).passthrough();

// Register works fine (create path handles ZodObject)
const tool = server.registerTool('my_tool', {
    description: 'test',
    inputSchema: schema,
}, async (args) => ({ content: [{ type: 'text', text: 'ok' }] }));

// Update crashes (update path does not handle ZodObject)
tool.update({ paramsSchema: schema });
// TypeError: Cannot read properties of null (reading '_zod')

Suggested fix

The update path should use getZodSchemaObject() (or equivalent) instead of calling objectFromShape() directly, matching the create path behavior.

Environment

• @modelcontextprotocol/sdk: 1.26.0
• zod: 3.25.76
• Node.js: v20.x