diff --git a/ufo/client/mcp/local_servers/cli_mcp_server.py b/ufo/client/mcp/local_servers/cli_mcp_server.py
index e82107c1..35357eb0 100644
--- a/ufo/client/mcp/local_servers/cli_mcp_server.py
+++ b/ufo/client/mcp/local_servers/cli_mcp_server.py
@@ -89,6 +89,48 @@
     re.compile(r">{1,2}\s*[/\\]", re.IGNORECASE),  # output redirection to paths
 ]
 
+# start.exe flags that consume no additional argument
+_START_FLAGS_NO_ARG: FrozenSet[str] = frozenset(
+    {
+        "/b", "/wait", "/min", "/max",
+        "/abovenormal", "/normal", "/belownormal",
+        "/low", "/idle", "/high", "/realtime",
+        "/affinity", "/node",
+    }
+)
+
+# start.exe flags that consume one additional argument
+_START_FLAGS_ONE_ARG: FrozenSet[str] = frozenset({"/d"})
+
+
+def _strip_start_prefix(tokens: List[str]) -> List[str]:
+    """
+    If the token list begins with the Windows ``start`` shell command, strip
+    it along with any ``start`` flags so the returned list begins with the
+    actual executable.  Returns the original list unchanged for all other
+    commands.
+    """
+    if not tokens or tokens[0].lower() not in ("start", "start.exe"):
+        return tokens
+
+    idx = 1
+
+    # Skip optional window title: a non-flag token that looks like a plain
+    # label (no dot, no path separators) rather than an executable name.
+    if idx < len(tokens) and not tokens[idx].startswith("/"):
+        candidate = tokens[idx]
+        if "." not in candidate and "\\" not in candidate and "/" not in candidate:
+            idx += 1
+
+    # Skip /flag and /flag <value> pairs
+    while idx < len(tokens) and tokens[idx].startswith("/"):
+        flag = tokens[idx].lower()
+        idx += 1
+        if flag in _START_FLAGS_ONE_ARG and idx < len(tokens):
+            idx += 1  # consume the flag's argument
+
+    return tokens[idx:]
+
 
 def _is_cli_command_allowed(command_str: str) -> bool:
     """
@@ -104,6 +146,12 @@ def _is_cli_command_allowed(command_str: str) -> bool:
     except ValueError:
         return False
 
+    if not tokens:
+        return False
+
+    # Unwrap Windows ``start`` launcher so we validate the real executable.
+    tokens = _strip_start_prefix(tokens)
+
     if not tokens:
         return False
 
@@ -127,6 +175,16 @@ def _is_cli_command_allowed(command_str: str) -> bool:
     return True
 
 
+def _resolve_launch_args(command_str: str) -> List[str]:
+    """
+    Return the argument list to pass to ``subprocess.Popen``.
+    When the command begins with ``start``, the launcher prefix is stripped
+    so the application is launched directly without requiring ``shell=True``.
+    """
+    tokens = shlex.split(command_str)
+    return _strip_start_prefix(tokens)
+
+
 @MCPRegistry.register_factory_decorator("CommandLineExecutor")
 def create_cli_mcp_server(*args, **kwargs) -> FastMCP:
     """
@@ -157,9 +215,9 @@ def run_shell(
             )
 
         try:
-            # Parse into argument list and launch without shell=True
-            # to prevent shell injection.
-            args = shlex.split(bash_command)
+            # Resolve to a direct executable invocation (strips ``start`` if
+            # present) and launch without shell=True to prevent shell injection.
+            args = _resolve_launch_args(bash_command)
             subprocess.Popen(args, shell=False)
             time.sleep(5)  # Wait for the application to launch
         except Exception as e: