Low Risk

describe_schema

describe_schema

How to control describe_schema ↓

What describe_schema does on Amazon Translate MCP Server

AI agents call describe_schema to retrieve information from Amazon Translate MCP Server without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.

Low Risk

Why describe_schema needs a policy

The tool name 'describe_schema' indicates a read-only operation that retrieves structural information about a schema. Despite the empty description, the verb 'describe' is typical of Read operations that query metadata without side effects. Confidence is moderate due to lack of explicit description, but the naming convention strongly suggests a non-destructive query operation.

From the tool's definition Tool name is 'describe_schema' which by convention returns metadata about a schema structure without modifying data. No description provided, but the name suggests introspection/querying.

Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access describe_schema gives an agent:

How to control describe_schema

PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and Amazon Translate MCP Server, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for describe_schema:

policy.json
{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "describe_schema": {}
  }
}

describe_schema is read-only, so it stays allowed — but everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.

  1. Create a free account and register Amazon Translate MCP Server — nothing to install.
  2. Add this policy — paste it, or build it visually.
  3. Point your MCP client (Claude, Cursor, anything) at your gateway URL.
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Related tools and policies

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Questions about describe_schema

What does the describe_schema tool do? +

describe_schema. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Amazon Translate MCP Server MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.

How do I enforce a policy on describe_schema? +

Register the Amazon Translate MCP Server MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for describe_schema: 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 Amazon Translate MCP Server. Nothing to install.

What risk level is describe_schema? +

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

Can I rate-limit describe_schema? +

Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the describe_schema 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 describe_schema completely? +

Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for describe_schema. 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 describe_schema? +

describe_schema is provided by the Amazon Translate MCP Server MCP server (awslabs.amazon-translate-mcp-server). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.

Enforce policy on every Amazon Translate MCP Server tool call.

Start from Amazon Translate MCP Server, add the rest of your stack, and see everything your agents can call. Then put policy on all of it.

Free to start. No card required.

805 Amazon Translate MCP Server tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 43,000+ MCP servers.

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