diff --git a/= b/=
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e69de29bb
diff --git a/crates/rmcp/src/model.rs b/crates/rmcp/src/model.rs
index be911f7f9..fda203bab 100644
--- a/crates/rmcp/src/model.rs
+++ b/crates/rmcp/src/model.rs
@@ -1230,6 +1230,7 @@ pub struct DiscoverResult {
     /// How long clients may consider this response fresh, in milliseconds.
     pub ttl_ms: u64,
     /// Whether the cached result may be shared across authorization contexts.
+    #[serde(default, deserialize_with = "deserialize_cache_scope_non_optional")]
     pub cache_scope: CacheScope,
     /// Protocol-level response metadata.
     #[serde(rename = "_meta", skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
@@ -1596,7 +1597,45 @@ pub enum CacheScope {
     Private,
 }
 
-/// Normalize a `ttlMs` value during deserialization.
+/// Normalize a `cacheScope` value during deserialization (non-optional).
+///
+/// Per SEP-2549, `cacheScope` MUST be `"public"`, `"private"`, or omitted.
+/// Some servers send an empty string `""`; this tolerates that case by
+/// defaulting to `CacheScope::Public` (the spec default).
+fn deserialize_cache_scope_non_optional<'de, D>(deserializer: D) -> Result<CacheScope, D::Error>
+where
+    D: serde::Deserializer<'de>,
+{
+    let value = Option::<String>::deserialize(deserializer)?;
+    match value.as_deref() {
+        None | Some("") => Ok(CacheScope::Public),
+        Some(s) => match s {
+            "public" => Ok(CacheScope::Public),
+            "private" => Ok(CacheScope::Private),
+            _ => Err(serde::de::Error::unknown_variant(s, &["public", "private"])),
+        },
+    }
+}
+
+/// Normalize a `cacheScope` value during deserialization (optional).
+///
+/// Per SEP-2549, `cacheScope` MUST be `"public"`, `"private"`, or omitted.
+/// Some servers send an empty string `""`; this tolerates that case by
+/// treating it as `None` (absent) rather than erroring.
+fn deserialize_cache_scope<'de, D>(deserializer: D) -> Result<Option<CacheScope>, D::Error>
+where
+    D: serde::Deserializer<'de>,
+{
+    let value = Option::<String>::deserialize(deserializer)?;
+    match value.as_deref() {
+        None | Some("") => Ok(None),
+        Some(s) => match s {
+            "public" => Ok(Some(CacheScope::Public)),
+            "private" => Ok(Some(CacheScope::Private)),
+            _ => Err(serde::de::Error::unknown_variant(s, &["public", "private"])),
+        },
+    }
+}
 ///
 /// Per SEP-2549, `ttlMs` MUST be `>= 0`; if a server returns a negative value,
 /// clients SHOULD treat it as `0` (immediately stale). This tolerates that case
@@ -1646,7 +1685,12 @@ macro_rules! paginated_result {
             /// Scope describing who may cache this result (SEP-2549).
             /// Required by spec version 2026-07-28, but optional here to maintain compatibility
             /// with older spec versions.
-            #[serde(default, skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
+            /// Empty string is tolerated as `None` (absent) per SEP-2549.
+            #[serde(
+                default,
+                deserialize_with = "deserialize_cache_scope",
+                skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none"
+            )]
             pub cache_scope: Option<CacheScope>,
             pub $i_item: $t_item,
         }
@@ -1796,7 +1840,11 @@ pub struct ReadResourceResult {
     /// Scope describing who may cache this result (SEP-2549).
     /// Required by spec version 2026-07-28, but optional here to maintain compatibility
     /// with older spec versions.
-    #[serde(default, skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
+    #[serde(
+        default,
+        deserialize_with = "deserialize_cache_scope",
+        skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none"
+    )]
     pub cache_scope: Option<CacheScope>,
     /// The actual content of the resource
     pub contents: Vec<ResourceContents>,
diff --git a/crates/rmcp/src/transport/common/client_side_sse.rs b/crates/rmcp/src/transport/common/client_side_sse.rs
index e668d63df..c35659692 100644
--- a/crates/rmcp/src/transport/common/client_side_sse.rs
+++ b/crates/rmcp/src/transport/common/client_side_sse.rs
@@ -227,7 +227,15 @@ impl SseRetryPolicy for ExponentialBackoff {
         {
             return None;
         }
-        Some(self.base_duration * (2u32.pow(current_times as u32)))
+        // Saturate the multiplier to avoid u32 overflow when current_times >= 32.
+        // Without saturation, 2u32.pow(32) panics in debug and wraps in release,
+        // causing either a panic or an unexpectedly short backoff delay.
+        let multiplier = if current_times >= 32 {
+            u32::MAX
+        } else {
+            2u32.pow(current_times as u32)
+        };
+        Some(self.base_duration * multiplier)
     }
 }
 
@@ -775,4 +783,34 @@ mod tests {
         assert!(stream.next().await.is_none());
         assert_eq!(attempts.load(Ordering::Relaxed), 0);
     }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn exponential_backoff_saturates_at_high_retry_count() {
+        let backoff = ExponentialBackoff {
+            max_times: None,
+            base_duration: Duration::from_millis(1000),
+        };
+
+        // Normal case: 2^5 = 32 seconds
+        assert_eq!(backoff.retry(5), Some(Duration::from_millis(32000)));
+
+        // At current_times=32, 2u32.pow(32) would overflow.
+        // Should saturate to u32::MAX instead of panicking.
+        let result = backoff.retry(32);
+        assert!(result.is_some(), "should still return Some at retry 32");
+        assert_eq!(
+            result,
+            Some(Duration::from_millis(1000) * u32::MAX),
+            "should saturate at u32::MAX multiplier"
+        );
+
+        // Even higher values should still work (saturated)
+        let result = backoff.retry(100);
+        assert!(result.is_some(), "should still return Some at retry 100");
+        assert_eq!(
+            result,
+            Some(Duration::from_millis(1000) * u32::MAX),
+            "should remain saturated at u32::MAX"
+        );
+    }
 }