Low Risk

search_papers

Search academic papers with AI-powered relevance scoring and summarization. Returns papers ranked by relevance with AI-generated summaries.

Accepts freeform code/query input (query)

Part of the Litra Paper Search MCP server. Enforce policies on this tool with Intercept, the open-source MCP proxy.

litra-paper-search-mcp Read Risk 2/5

AI agents call search_papers to retrieve information from Litra Paper Search without modifying any data. This is common in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows where the agent needs context before taking action. Because read operations don't change state, they are generally safe to allow without restrictions -- but you may still want rate limits to control API costs.

Even though search_papers only reads data, uncontrolled read access can leak sensitive information or rack up API costs. An agent caught in a retry loop could make thousands of calls per minute. A rate limit gives you a safety net without blocking legitimate use.

Read-only tools are safe to allow by default. No rate limit needed unless you want to control costs.

io-github-akkylab-litra-paper-search.yaml
tools:
  search_papers:
    rules:
      - action: allow

See the full Litra Paper Search policy for all 3 tools.

Tool Name search_papers
Category Read
Risk Level Low

Agents calling read-class tools like search_papers have been implicated in these attack patterns. Read the full case and prevention policy for each:

Browse the full MCP Attack Database →

Other tools in the Read risk category across the catalogue. The same policy patterns (rate-limit, allow) apply to each.

What does the search_papers tool do? +

Search academic papers with AI-powered relevance scoring and summarization. Returns papers ranked by relevance with AI-generated summaries.. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Litra Paper Search MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.

How do I enforce a policy on search_papers? +

Add a rule in your Intercept YAML policy under the tools section for search_papers. You can allow, deny, rate-limit, or validate arguments. Then run Intercept as a proxy in front of the Litra Paper Search MCP server.

What risk level is search_papers? +

search_papers is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.

Can I rate-limit search_papers? +

Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the search_papers rule in your Intercept 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 search_papers completely? +

Set action: deny in the Intercept policy for search_papers. 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 search_papers? +

search_papers is provided by the Litra Paper Search MCP server (litra-paper-search-mcp). Intercept sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.

Enforce policies on Litra Paper Search

Open source. One binary. Zero dependencies.

npx -y @policylayer/intercept
github.com/policylayer/intercept →
// GET IN TOUCH

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