List all available mailboxes (folders). Auto-connects if not already connected.
AI agents call list_mailboxes to retrieve information from Mcp Mail Server without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
This tool retrieves metadata about available mailboxes/folders via IMAP. It has no side effects—it does not create, modify, delete, or execute operations. The auto-connect behavior is a convenience feature that does not change the classification. Listing mailboxes is a standard read-only information retrieval operation with minimal blast radius if misused by an AI agent.
From the tool's definition Tool name 'list_mailboxes' and description 'List all available mailboxes (folders)' indicate a query operation that retrieves folder information without modification.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
List all available mailboxes (folders). Auto-connects if not already connected. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Mcp Mail Server MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the Mcp Mail Server MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for list_mailboxes: 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 Mail Server. Nothing to install.
list_mailboxes 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_mailboxes 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_mailboxes. 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_mailboxes is provided by the Mcp Mail Server MCP server (mcp-mail-server). 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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