List all active beacons in the Cobalt Strike teamserver
AI agents call list_beacons to retrieve information from Cobalt Strike MCP Server without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
This tool retrieves information about active beacons without modifying, executing code on, or deleting them. It is purely informational. However, the severity is rated 'high' because Cobalt Strike is a commercial red team command-and-control framework, and access to beacon inventory reveals the scope and state of an active red team operation—critical intelligence if misused by an unauthorized agent.
From the tool's definition Tool name 'list_beacons' and description 'List all active beacons in the Cobalt Strike teamserver' indicate a query/retrieval operation with no side effects.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
List all active beacons in the Cobalt Strike teamserver. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Cobalt Strike MCP Server MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the Cobalt Strike MCP Server MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for list_beacons: 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 Cobalt Strike MCP Server. Nothing to install.
list_beacons 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_beacons 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_beacons. 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_beacons is provided by the Cobalt Strike MCP Server MCP server (mickeydb/cobalt-strike-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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