api_security
API security: local API discovery, auth audit, rate limiting, TLS verify, CORS check
This record as markdown: /tools/defense/api-security.md
What api_security does on Defense
AI agents call api_security to retrieve information from Defense without modifying anything. It is typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
action | string | Yes | API security action |
target | string | — | URL or host:port to scan |
port_range | string | — | Comma-separated ports to scan for APIs |
output_format | string | — | Output format |
Parameters from the server's own tool schema.
Why api_security is rated Low
The described actions — discovery, audit, verify, and check — are primarily read/inspection operations that assess the security posture of APIs without modifying them. However, some actions like 'rate limiting' could imply configuration changes (Write), introducing slight ambiguity. Overall the tool appears to be an auditing/scanning tool.
From the tool's definition API security: local API discovery, auth audit, rate limiting, TLS verify, CORS check
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
The rule that runs api_security safely
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: it sits between your AI agents and Defense, and checks every tool call against a rule you set before the call runs. Nothing changes on the server itself. For api_security, this is the rule to start with:
api_security is read-only, so it stays allowed. Everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
The button opens the PolicyLayer dashboard: create your workspace, connect Defense, apply this rule, and every api_security call is checked against it from then on.
Questions about api_security
API security: local API discovery, auth audit, rate limiting, TLS verify, CORS check. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Defense MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
api_security accepts 4 parameters: action, target, port_range, output_format. Required: action. The full parameter table on this page comes from the server's own tool schema.
Register the Defense MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for api_security: 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 Defense. Nothing to install.
api_security 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 api_security 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 api_security. 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.
api_security is provided by the Defense MCP server (defense-mcp-server). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
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