Critical Risk →

delete_group

delete_group

How to control delete_group ↓

What delete_group does on AWS

AI agents call delete_group to permanently remove resources in AWS — typically in cleanup and lifecycle workflows. It does its job in a single call, and there is no undo.

Critical Risk

Why delete_group needs a policy

Deleting an AWS IAM group is an irreversible destructive action that removes identity management controls and potentially breaks permissions for multiple users. This is the most severe category applicable. High confidence despite empty description due to the explicit destructive verb in the tool name and AWS context of sibling tools (user/group management).

From the tool's definition Tool name is 'delete_group' with no description provided. The verb 'delete' combined with the object 'group' (AWS IAM group) indicates irreversible removal of a resource.

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

How to control delete_group

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

policy.json
{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "hide": [
    "delete_group"
  ]
}

delete_group disappears from the agent's tool list entirely, and any attempt to call it is denied. The rest of the server keeps working.

  1. Create a free account and register AWS — 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

Go deeper

Questions about delete_group

What does the delete_group tool do? +

delete_group. It is categorised as a Destructive tool in the AWS MCP Server, which means it can permanently delete or destroy data. Block by default and require explicit approval.

How do I enforce a policy on delete_group? +

Register the AWS MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for delete_group: 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 AWS. Nothing to install.

What risk level is delete_group? +

delete_group is a Destructive tool with critical risk. Critical-risk tools should be blocked by default and only enabled with explicit human approval.

Can I rate-limit delete_group? +

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

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

delete_group is provided by the AWS MCP server (@awslabs/mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.

Enforce policy on every AWS tool call.

Start from AWS, 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.

300 AWS tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 43,000+ MCP servers.

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