Start a multi-target campaign. Creates one engagement per target. Accepts a list of IPs, hostnames, or URLs.
AI agents invoke start_campaign to trigger actions in Pentest Ai. What it does depends on the arguments the agent supplies, and its effects often reach beyond the immediate call — builds kicked off, notifications sent, workflows started.
This tool triggers external operations (penetration testing) whose effects depend on the provided target arguments. While the intent is authorized security testing, this is fundamentally an Execute category tool because it runs complex security testing operations, frameworks, and exploits against specified targets.
From the tool's definition Tool starts automated pentesting campaigns that deploy 'real security tools, working PoCs' against multiple targets, creating engagements per target.
Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access start_campaign 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 start_campaign:
{
"version": "1",
"default": "deny",
"tools": {
"start_campaign": {
"limits": [
{
"counter": "start_campaign_rate",
"window": "minute",
"max": 10,
"scope": "grant"
}
]
}
}
}start_campaign stays usable, but rate-capped — a runaway agent can't fire it dozens of times a minute. Everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
Free to start. No card required.
Start a multi-target campaign. Creates one engagement per target. Accepts a list of IPs, hostnames, or URLs. It is categorised as a Execute tool in the Pentest Ai MCP Server, which means it can trigger actions or run processes. Use rate limits and argument validation.
Register the Pentest Ai MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for start_campaign: 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.
start_campaign is a Execute tool with high risk. Execute tools should be rate-limited and have argument validation enabled.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the start_campaign 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 start_campaign. 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.
start_campaign 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.