list_files

What list_files does on Kali

AI agents call list_files to retrieve information from Kali without modifying anything. It is typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.

Why list_files is rated Low

This tool only retrieves directory contents without side effects. It is a read operation that gathers information about the filesystem state. While the container runs security tools, this specific tool does not execute code or modify data; it merely queries the filesystem. Severity is low because filesystem enumeration has limited blast radius when used in isolation.

From the tool's definition Tool name is 'list_files' and description states it 'List files in a directory inside the Kali Linux container' — a pure read operation with no modification, deletion, or execution of code.

The rule that runs list_files safely

PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: it sits between your AI agents and Kali, and checks every tool call against a rule you set before the call runs. Nothing changes on the server itself. For list_files, this is the rule to start with:

{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "list_files": {}
  }
}

Questions about list_files