recon_whois

Domain OSINT via whois.

SERVERHercules MCP SOURCE0xmihirk/hercules-mcp

Low RISK CLASS

Category Read

Parameters 00 required

Recommended Allowedsee the rule below

Registry record Grade F, identity unverified Pull the record →

This record as markdown: /tools/0xmihirk-hercules-mcp/recon-whois.md

WHAT IT DOES

What recon_whois does on Hercules MCP

AI agents call recon_whois to retrieve information from Hercules MCP without modifying anything. It is typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.

RISK

Why recon_whois is rated Low

WHOIS lookups are passive reconnaissance that query public registration data about a domain. This is a read-only operation with no side effects — it retrieves publicly available information. While it is used in penetration testing workflows, the tool itself causes no harm and cannot modify or destroy data. Severity is low as the blast radius of misuse is minimal (the information is already public).

From the tool's definition Domain OSINT via whois

Attacks that exploit this kind of access

RECOMMENDED RULE

The rule that runs recon_whois safely

PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: it sits between your AI agents and Hercules MCP, and checks every tool call against a rule you set before the call runs. Nothing changes on the server itself. For recon_whois, this is the rule to start with:

recon_whois Allowed

recon_whois is read-only, so it stays allowed. Everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.

View as policy code

policy.json

{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "recon_whois": {}
  }
}

ALLOW ONLY THIS TOOL → Instant setup, no code required.

The button opens the PolicyLayer dashboard: create your workspace, connect Hercules MCP, apply this rule, and every recon_whois call is checked against it from then on.

FAQ

Questions about recon_whois

What does the recon_whois tool do? +

Domain OSINT via whois. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Hercules MCP MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.

How do I enforce a policy on recon_whois? +

Register the Hercules MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for recon_whois: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches Hercules MCP. Nothing to install.

What risk level is recon_whois? +

recon_whois is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.

Can I rate-limit recon_whois? +

Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the recon_whois rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.

How do I block recon_whois completely? +

Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for recon_whois. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.

What MCP server provides recon_whois? +

recon_whois is provided by the Hercules MCP server (0xmihirk/hercules-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.

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