AI agents call provenance_stats to retrieve information from Project Tessera without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
This tool retrieves metadata statistics about document provenance (origin, history, source tracking) from the vector store memory system. It performs no writes, deletions, code execution, or financial operations. The 'Get' verb and statistical query nature confirm this is a read-only operation with minimal security risk even if misused by an agent.
From the tool's definition Tool name 'provenance_stats' and description 'Get provenance statistics' indicate a retrieval operation that queries statistical information about document provenance without modifying or executing any operations.
Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access provenance_stats gives an agent:
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and Project Tessera, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for provenance_stats:
{
"version": "1",
"default": "deny",
"tools": {
"provenance_stats": {}
}
}provenance_stats is read-only, so it stays allowed — but everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
Free to start. No card required.
Get provenance statistics. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Project Tessera MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the Project Tessera MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for provenance_stats: 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 Project Tessera. Nothing to install.
provenance_stats 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 provenance_stats 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 provenance_stats. 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.
provenance_stats is provided by the Project Tessera MCP server (besslframework-stack/project-tessera). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Start from Project Tessera, 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.
43 Project Tessera tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 43,000+ MCP servers.