List running tool subprocesses tracked by the engine. Each entry includes pid, tool, target, runtime_seconds, engagement_id, and cmd. Useful for monitoring long-running scans (nuclei, masscan, full-portscan nmap) and deciding whether to kill them.
AI agents call list_processes to retrieve information from Pentest Ai without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
This tool retrieves and queries the state of running processes without modifying, executing, or deleting anything. It is purely informational, making it a Read category risk. Severity is low because reading process metadata has minimal blast radius—no data is destroyed, modified, or executed as a result of calling this tool.
From the tool's definition Tool description states it 'List[s] running tool subprocesses tracked by the engine' and returns entries with 'pid, tool, target, runtime_seconds, engagement_id, and cmd'.
Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access list_processes gives an agent:
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and Pentest Ai, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for list_processes:
{
"version": "1",
"default": "deny",
"tools": {
"list_processes": {}
}
}list_processes is read-only, so it stays allowed — but everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
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List running tool subprocesses tracked by the engine. Each entry includes pid, tool, target, runtime_seconds, engagement_id, and cmd. Useful for monitoring long-running scans (nuclei, masscan, full-portscan nmap) and deciding whether to kill them. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Pentest Ai MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the Pentest Ai MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for list_processes: 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 Pentest Ai. Nothing to install.
list_processes is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the list_processes 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.
Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for list_processes. 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.
list_processes is provided by the Pentest Ai MCP server (0xsteph/pentest-ai). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Deterministic rules across all 51 Pentest Ai tools. Per-identity grants. Full audit log. Live in minutes. Nothing to install.
Free to start. No card required.
51 Pentest Ai tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 42,500+ MCP servers.