High-risk tools in PostgreSQL MCP Server

High severity PostgreSQL MCP Server MCP Server 43 of 274 tools

43 of the 274 tools in PostgreSQL MCP Server are classified as high risk. This page profiles those tools specifically, with recommended policy actions and the attack patterns that target them.

Every operation listed below is an action PolicyLayer recommends controlling at the transport layer. Open any tool to see the full profile, risk score, and YAML policy snippet.

Tools at high risk

pg_analyze Execute

Update table statistics for the query planner.
pg_analyze_query_indexes Execute

Analyze a specific query for index recommendations using EXPLAIN ANALYZE.
pg_buffer Execute

Create a buffer zone around geometries. Default limit: 10 rows, default simplify: 10m (set simplify: 0 to disable). Simplification reduces polygon point count for LLM-friendly p...
pg_cancel_backend Execute

Cancel a running query (graceful, preferred over terminate).
pg_cluster Execute

Physically reorder table data based on an index. Call with no args to re-cluster all previously-clustered tables.
pg_cron_create_extension Execute

Enable the pg_cron extension for job scheduling. Requires superuser privileges.
pg_cron_schedule Execute

Schedule a new cron job. Supports standard cron syntax (e.g.,
pg_cron_schedule_in_database Execute

Schedule a cron job to run in a different database. Useful for cross-database maintenance tasks. Returns the job ID.
pg_explain_analyze Execute

Run query and show actual execution plan with timing.
pg_geo_cluster Execute

Perform spatial clustering using DBSCAN or K-Means. DBSCAN defaults: eps=100m, minPoints=3. K-Means default: numClusters=5 (provide explicit value for best results).
pg_geo_transform Execute

Transform geometry from one spatial reference system (SRID) to another.
pg_geometry_transform Execute

Transform a WKT or GeoJSON geometry from one SRID to another. Common SRIDs: 4326 (WGS84/GPS), 3857 (Web Mercator).
pg_jsonb_array Execute

Build a JSONB array from values. Accepts {values: [...]} or {elements: [...]}. Returns {array: [...]}.
pg_kcache_create_extension Execute

Enable the pg_stat_kcache extension for OS-level performance metrics. Requires pg_stat_statements to be installed first. Both extensions must be in shared_preload_libraries.
pg_ltree_create_extension Execute

Enable the ltree extension for hierarchical tree-structured labels.
pg_migration_apply Execute

Execute migration SQL and record it atomically in a single transaction.
pg_partman_create_extension Execute

Enable the pg_partman extension for automated partition management. Requires superuser privileges.
pg_partman_run_maintenance Execute

Run partition maintenance to create new child partitions and enforce retention policies. Should be executed regularly (e.g., via pg_cron) to keep partitions current. Maintains a...
pg_pgcrypto_create_extension Execute

Enable the pgcrypto extension for cryptographic functions.
pg_pgcrypto_crypt Execute

Hash a password using crypt() with a salt from gen_salt().
pg_pgcrypto_decrypt Execute

Decrypt data that was encrypted with pg_pgcrypto_encrypt.
pg_pgcrypto_encrypt Execute

Encrypt data using PGP symmetric encryption.
pg_pgcrypto_gen_random_uuid Execute

Generate a cryptographically secure UUID v4.
pg_pgcrypto_gen_salt Execute

Generate a salt for use with crypt() password hashing.
pg_pgcrypto_hmac Execute

Compute HMAC for data with a secret key.
pg_postgis_create_extension Execute

Enable the PostGIS extension for geospatial operations.
pg_reindex Execute

Rebuild indexes to improve performance. For target: database, name defaults to the current database if omitted.
pg_reload_conf Execute

Reload PostgreSQL configuration without restart.
pg_restore_command Execute

Generate pg_restore command for restoring backups.
pg_role_set Execute

Set the session
pg_security_audit Execute

Run a comprehensive security audit checking SSL, password encryption, superuser exposure, logging, and HBA rules.
pg_set_config Execute

Set a configuration parameter for the current session.
pg_stats_running_total Execute

Calculate cumulative running total (SUM OVER) for a numeric column. Use partitionBy to reset total per group.
pg_transaction_begin Execute

Begin a new transaction. Returns a transaction ID for subsequent operations.
pg_transaction_execute Execute

Execute multiple statements atomically in a single transaction.
pg_vacuum Execute

Run VACUUM to reclaim storage and update visibility map. Use analyze: true to also update statistics. Verbose output goes to PostgreSQL server logs.
pg_vacuum_analyze Execute

Run VACUUM and ANALYZE together for optimal performance. Verbose output goes to PostgreSQL server logs.
pg_vector_cluster Execute

Perform K-means clustering on vectors. Returns cluster centroids only (not row assignments). To assign rows to clusters, compare row vectors to centroids using pg_vector_distance.
pg_vector_create_extension Execute

Enable the pgvector extension for vector similarity search.
pg_vector_dimension_reduce Execute

Reduce vector dimensions using random projection. Supports direct vector input OR table-based extraction.
pg_vector_embed Execute

Generate text embeddings. Returns a simple hash-based embedding for demos (use external APIs for production).
pg_vector_normalize Execute

Normalize a vector to unit length.
pg_vector_performance Execute

Analyze vector search performance and index effectiveness. Provide testVector for benchmarking (recommended).

Attacks that target this class

High-risk tools in any server share these documented attack patterns. Each links to the full case and the defensive policy.

Destructive Action Autonomy
Runaway Tool Loops
Prompt Injection via Tool Results

High-risk tools in PostgreSQL MCP Server

Tools at high risk

Attacks that target this class

More on PostgreSQL MCP Server

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