List all active terminal sessions
AI agents call list_terminals to retrieve information from Persistent Terminal MCP Server without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
This is a read-only operation that queries and returns information about existing terminal sessions. It retrieves data without side effects. The severity is elevated to medium rather than low because listing active terminals can expose sensitive operational details (commands being run, user activities, debugging information) that could be leveraged by an attacker for reconnaissance or privilege escalation, even…
From the tool's definition Tool name 'list_terminals' and description 'List all active terminal sessions' indicate data retrieval with no modification.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
List all active terminal sessions. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Persistent Terminal MCP Server MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the Persistent Terminal MCP Server MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for list_terminals: 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 Persistent Terminal MCP Server. Nothing to install.
list_terminals 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 list_terminals 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 list_terminals. 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.
list_terminals is provided by the Persistent Terminal MCP Server MCP server (masx200/persistent-terminal-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Every MCP server has a record like this.
Type a name, get the same breakdown: verified identity, auth posture, risk grade, capabilities, recommended policy.
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