diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 486cafbb49..08ac9ed52c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: 'Link Checker'
         uses: 'lycheeverse/lychee-action@885c65f3dc543b57c898c8099f4e08c8afd178a2' # ratchet: lycheeverse/lychee-action@v2.6.1
         with:
-          args: '--verbose ./**/*.md'
+          args: '--verbose --accept 200,503 ./**/*.md'
           fail: true
   test_linux:
     name: 'Test (Linux)'
diff --git a/.github/workflows/links.yml b/.github/workflows/links.yml
index b482a059c0..b4aa73aac4 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/links.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/links.yml
@@ -20,4 +20,4 @@ jobs:
         id: 'lychee'
         uses: 'lycheeverse/lychee-action@885c65f3dc543b57c898c8099f4e08c8afd178a2' # ratchet: lycheeverse/lychee-action@v2.6.1
         with:
-          args: '--verbose --no-progress ./**/*.md'
+          args: '--verbose --no-progress --accept 200,503 ./**/*.md'
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index adc9a953af..1d7bc4f832 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -17915,7 +17915,7 @@
         "@google/gemini-cli-core": "file:../core",
         "@google/genai": "1.30.0",
         "@iarna/toml": "^2.2.5",
-        "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk": "^1.15.1",
+        "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk": "^1.22.0",
         "@types/update-notifier": "^6.0.8",
         "ansi-regex": "^6.2.2",
         "clipboardy": "^5.0.0",
@@ -18019,7 +18019,7 @@
         "@google/genai": "1.30.0",
         "@iarna/toml": "^2.2.5",
         "@joshua.litt/get-ripgrep": "^0.0.3",
-        "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk": "^1.11.0",
+        "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk": "^1.22.0",
         "@opentelemetry/api": "^1.9.0",
         "@opentelemetry/exporter-logs-otlp-grpc": "^0.203.0",
         "@opentelemetry/exporter-logs-otlp-http": "^0.203.0",
@@ -18170,7 +18170,7 @@
       "version": "0.18.0-nightly.20251120.2231497b1",
       "license": "LICENSE",
       "dependencies": {
-        "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk": "^1.15.1",
+        "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk": "^1.22.0",
         "cors": "^2.8.5",
         "express": "^5.1.0",
         "zod": "^3.25.76"
diff --git a/packages/cli/package.json b/packages/cli/package.json
index b5b1ddeb9a..d5b5c6fabb 100644
--- a/packages/cli/package.json
+++ b/packages/cli/package.json
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@
     "@google/gemini-cli-core": "file:../core",
     "@google/genai": "1.30.0",
     "@iarna/toml": "^2.2.5",
-    "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk": "^1.15.1",
+    "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk": "^1.22.0",
     "@types/update-notifier": "^6.0.8",
     "ansi-regex": "^6.2.2",
     "clipboardy": "^5.0.0",
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/extensions/examples/mcp-server/package.json b/packages/cli/src/commands/extensions/examples/mcp-server/package.json
index d38f7ee99d..b273550d71 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/extensions/examples/mcp-server/package.json
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/extensions/examples/mcp-server/package.json
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
     "@types/node": "^20.11.25"
   },
   "dependencies": {
-    "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk": "^1.11.0",
+    "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk": "^1.22.0",
     "zod": "^3.22.4"
   }
 }
diff --git a/packages/core/package.json b/packages/core/package.json
index 91a823ba5f..0bcf213943 100644
--- a/packages/core/package.json
+++ b/packages/core/package.json
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@
     "@google/genai": "1.30.0",
     "@iarna/toml": "^2.2.5",
     "@joshua.litt/get-ripgrep": "^0.0.3",
-    "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk": "^1.11.0",
+    "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk": "^1.22.0",
     "@opentelemetry/api": "^1.9.0",
     "@opentelemetry/exporter-logs-otlp-grpc": "^0.203.0",
     "@opentelemetry/exporter-logs-otlp-http": "^0.203.0",
diff --git a/packages/core/src/tools/mcp-client.ts b/packages/core/src/tools/mcp-client.ts
index b76c028784..f484d73b21 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/tools/mcp-client.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/tools/mcp-client.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,12 @@
  */
 
 import { Client } from '@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/client/index.js';
+import { AjvJsonSchemaValidator } from '@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/validation/ajv';
+import type {
+  jsonSchemaValidator,
+  JsonSchemaType,
+  JsonSchemaValidator,
+} from '@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/validation/types.js';
 import type { SSEClientTransportOptions } from '@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/client/sse.js';
 import { SSEClientTransport } from '@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/client/sse.js';
 import { StdioClientTransport } from '@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/client/stdio.js';
@@ -533,6 +539,38 @@ export async function discoverMcpTools(
   }
 }
 
+/**
+ * A tolerant JSON Schema validator for MCP tool output schemas.
+ *
+ * Some MCP servers (e.g. third‑party extensions) return complex schemas that
+ * include `$defs` / `$ref` chains which can occasionally trip AJV's resolver,
+ * causing discovery to fail. This wrapper keeps the default AJV validator for
+ * normal operation but falls back to a no‑op validator any time schema
+ * compilation throws, so we can still list and use the tool while emitting a
+ * debug log.
+ */
+class LenientJsonSchemaValidator implements jsonSchemaValidator {
+  private readonly ajvValidator = new AjvJsonSchemaValidator();
+
+  getValidator<T>(schema: JsonSchemaType): JsonSchemaValidator<T> {
+    try {
+      return this.ajvValidator.getValidator<T>(schema);
+    } catch (error) {
+      debugLogger.warn(
+        `Failed to compile MCP tool output schema (${
+          (schema as Record<string, unknown>)?.['$id'] ?? '<no $id>'
+        }): ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}. ` +
+          'Skipping output validation for this tool.',
+      );
+      return (input: unknown) => ({
+        valid: true as const,
+        data: input as T,
+        errorMessage: undefined,
+      });
+    }
+  }
+}
+
 /** Visible for Testing */
 export function populateMcpServerCommand(
   mcpServers: Record<string, MCPServerConfig>,
@@ -892,10 +930,16 @@ export async function connectToMcpServer(
   debugMode: boolean,
   workspaceContext: WorkspaceContext,
 ): Promise<Client> {
-  const mcpClient = new Client({
-    name: 'gemini-cli-mcp-client',
-    version: '0.0.1',
-  });
+  const mcpClient = new Client(
+    {
+      name: 'gemini-cli-mcp-client',
+      version: '0.0.1',
+    },
+    {
+      // Use a tolerant validator so bad output schemas don't block discovery.
+      jsonSchemaValidator: new LenientJsonSchemaValidator(),
+    },
+  );
 
   mcpClient.registerCapabilities({
     roots: {
diff --git a/packages/vscode-ide-companion/package.json b/packages/vscode-ide-companion/package.json
index 7e67a359c8..d4ed0d09c9 100644
--- a/packages/vscode-ide-companion/package.json
+++ b/packages/vscode-ide-companion/package.json
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@
     "vitest": "^3.2.4"
   },
   "dependencies": {
-    "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk": "^1.15.1",
+    "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk": "^1.22.0",
     "cors": "^2.8.5",
     "express": "^5.1.0",
     "zod": "^3.25.76"