Get a specific paper from CrossRef by its DOI.
AI agents call get_crossref_paper_by_doi to retrieve information from Paper Search without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
This is a straightforward retrieval operation that queries a scholarly database and returns paper information. It has no side effects, cannot modify data, and poses minimal risk even if called inappropriately by an AI agent. The worst-case scenario is retrieving unwanted academic papers, which causes no harm.
From the tool's definition Tool performs retrieval by DOI lookup ('Get a specific paper from CrossRef by its DOI'). No modification, deletion, or execution capability. Returns metadata or paper information from a read-only query against CrossRef API.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
Get a specific paper from CrossRef by its DOI. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Paper Search MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the Paper Search MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for get_crossref_paper_by_doi: 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 Paper Search. Nothing to install.
get_crossref_paper_by_doi 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 get_crossref_paper_by_doi 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 get_crossref_paper_by_doi. 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.
get_crossref_paper_by_doi is provided by the Paper Search MCP server (its-antony/paper-search). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
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