Critical Risk →

zero_auth

Zero-dollar authorization to validate a card without charging (card or CardToken)

How to control zero_auth ↓

What zero_auth does on Mcp Ap2

AI agents use zero_auth to commit financial operations through Mcp Ap2 — usually the final step of a payment, billing, or trading workflow. A call moves real money.

Critical Risk

Why zero_auth needs a policy

This tool performs a financial authorization transaction against a payment card or token. Even though no money is charged, it initiates a real authorization request with a payment network, which can affect card availability, trigger fraud signals, or be misused to validate stolen card details at scale. It falls under the Financial category because it directly interacts with payment infrastructure.

From the tool's definition 'Zero-dollar authorization to validate a card without charging (card or CardToken)'

Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access zero_auth gives an agent:

How to control zero_auth

PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and Mcp Ap2, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for zero_auth:

policy.json
{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "zero_auth": {
      "deny_if": [
        {
          "conditions": [],
          "on_deny": "Requires human approval."
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

Any call to zero_auth is blocked until a human approves it. The rest of the server keeps working.

  1. Create a free account and register Mcp Ap2 — nothing to install.
  2. Add this policy — paste it, or build it visually.
  3. Point your MCP client (Claude, Cursor, anything) at your gateway URL.
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Related tools and policies

Go deeper

Questions about zero_auth

What does the zero_auth tool do? +

Zero-dollar authorization to validate a card without charging (card or CardToken). It is categorised as a Financial tool in the Mcp Ap2 MCP Server, which means it involves financial transactions. Block by default and require explicit approval.

How do I enforce a policy on zero_auth? +

Register the Mcp Ap2 MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for zero_auth: 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 Mcp Ap2. Nothing to install.

What risk level is zero_auth? +

zero_auth is a Financial tool with critical risk. Critical-risk tools should be blocked by default and only enabled with explicit human approval.

Can I rate-limit zero_auth? +

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

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

zero_auth is provided by the Mcp Ap2 MCP server (@codespar/mcp-ap2). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.

Enforce policy on every Mcp Ap2 tool call.

Start from Mcp Ap2, add the rest of your stack, and see everything your agents can call. Then put policy on all of it.

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1300 Mcp Ap2 tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 43,000+ MCP servers.

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