compliance

Compliance: Lynis, OpenSCAP, CIS benchmarks, framework checks, policy, cron/tmp hardening

SERVERDefense SOURCEdefense-mcp-server

Medium RISK CLASS

Category Write

Parameters 121 required

Recommended Rate-limitedsee the rule below

Registry record Grade F, identity unverified Pull the record →

This record as markdown: /tools/defense/compliance.md

WHAT IT DOES

What compliance does on Defense

AI agents use compliance to create or update resources in Defense, usually the action step of a workflow, after the agent has gathered context. Every call changes real data in your Defense environment.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`level`	string	—	CIS benchmark level
`quick`	boolean	—	Quick mode, skip long-running tests
`action`	string	Yes	Action to perform
`dryRun`	boolean	—	Preview only
`format`	string	—	Report output format
`content`	string	—	Path to SCAP content DS file
`dry_run`	boolean	—	Preview without applying
`pentest`	boolean	—	Enable pentest mode
`profile`	string	—	Lynis profile file path
`section`	string	—	CIS benchmark section
`framework`	string	—	Compliance framework
`test_group`	string	—	Test group, e.g. 'firewall', 'ssh', 'kernel'

Parameters from the server's own tool schema.

RISK

Why compliance is rated Medium

An AI agent can call compliance faster than any human can review: one bad instruction and it creates or modifies resources in Defense by the hundred, each call as confident as the last.

Risk signalsAccepts raw HTML/template content (content) · High parameter count (23 properties)

Attacks that exploit this kind of access

RECOMMENDED RULE

The rule that runs compliance 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 compliance, this is the rule to start with:

compliance Rate-limited

compliance stays usable, but capped: an agent stuck in a loop can't make hundreds of changes a minute. Everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.

View as policy code

policy.json

{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "compliance": {
      "limits": [
        {
          "counter": "compliance_rate",
          "window": "minute",
          "max": 30,
          "scope": "grant"
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

LIMIT THIS TOOL → Instant setup, no code required.

The button opens the PolicyLayer dashboard: create your workspace, connect Defense, apply this rule, and every compliance call is checked against it from then on.

FAQ

Questions about compliance

What does the compliance tool do? +

Compliance: Lynis, OpenSCAP, CIS benchmarks, framework checks, policy, cron/tmp hardening. It is categorised as a Write tool in the Defense MCP Server, which means it can create or modify data. Consider rate limits to prevent runaway writes.

What parameters does compliance accept? +

compliance accepts 12 parameters: level, quick, action, dryRun, format, content, dry_run, pentest, profile, section, framework, test_group. Required: action. The full parameter table on this page comes from the server's own tool schema.

How do I enforce a policy on compliance? +

Register the Defense MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for compliance: 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.

What risk level is compliance? +

compliance is a Write tool with medium risk. Write tools should be rate-limited to prevent accidental bulk modifications.

Can I rate-limit compliance? +

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

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

compliance 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.

KEEP EXPLORING

More on Defense, and thousands of servers like it.

This server

All 31 Defense tools →

Across the catalogue

The MCP Attack Database →

Guides

Govern customer-ops agents →Argument validation →Scoped token →