send_transactional_email · Sitecore Send MCP: Risk & Policy

WHAT IT DOES

What send_transactional_email does on Sitecore Send

AI agents invoke send_transactional_email to trigger actions in Sitecore Send. What it does depends on the arguments the agent supplies, and its effects often reach beyond the immediate call — builds kicked off, notifications sent, workflows started.

WHY IT NEEDS A POLICY

Why send_transactional_email needs a policy

Sending a transactional email triggers an external operation (delivering an email to a recipient) that cannot be undone once sent. This falls under Execute rather than Write because it causes a real-world side effect (email delivery) beyond just modifying stored data. Severity is high because a misused agent could send unsolicited or malicious emails to real recipients at scale.

From the tool's definition "Send an email using transactional email service"

Attacks that exploit this kind of access

Recommended rule Ready

Verdict

send_transactional_email Rate-limited

send_transactional_email stays usable, but rate-capped — a runaway agent can't fire it dozens of times a minute. Everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.

View as policy code

policy.json

{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "send_transactional_email": {
      "limits": [
        {
          "counter": "send_transactional_email_rate",
          "window": "minute",
          "max": 10,
          "scope": "grant"
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

RATE-LIMIT THIS TOOL →

Instant setup, no code required.

PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: every tool call is checked against your rule before it reaches Sitecore Send, so you can run agents against it safely.

FAQ

Questions about send_transactional_email

What does the send_transactional_email tool do? +

Send an email using transactional email service. It is categorised as a Execute tool in the Sitecore Send MCP Server, which means it can trigger actions or run processes. Use rate limits and argument validation.

How do I enforce a policy on send_transactional_email? +

Register the Sitecore Send MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for send_transactional_email: 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 Sitecore Send. Nothing to install.

What risk level is send_transactional_email? +

send_transactional_email is a Execute tool with high risk. Execute tools should be rate-limited and have argument validation enabled.

Can I rate-limit send_transactional_email? +

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

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

send_transactional_email is provided by the Sitecore Send MCP server (izharikov/send-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.