terminate_process

THE RISK

Critical Risk

Why terminate_process needs a policy

Terminating a process is irreversible in the moment — the process is killed and any unsaved state is lost. SIGKILL in particular cannot be intercepted or handled, making it especially destructive. An AI agent misusing this tool could kill critical system processes, crash applications, or cause data loss, hence high severity.

From the tool's definition Terminate a process session. Use force=true for SIGKILL instead of graceful SIGTERM.

Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access terminate_process gives an agent:

POLICY

How to control terminate_process

PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and OODA Computer Control, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for terminate_process:

policy.json

{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "hide": [
    "terminate_process"
  ]
}

terminate_process disappears from the agent's tool list entirely, and any attempt to call it is denied. The rest of the server keeps working.

Create a free account and register OODA Computer Control — nothing to install.
Add this policy — paste it, or build it visually.
Point your MCP client (Claude, Cursor, anything) at your gateway URL.

RESTRICT THIS TOOL →

Free to start. No card required.

EXPLORE

Related tools and policies

More OODA Computer Control tools

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All 99 OODA Computer Control tools →

Destructive tools on other servers

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Go deeper

Critical-risk tools in OODA Computer Control → Every critical-risk tool this server exposes, in one view.
All critical-risk MCP tools → Every critical-risk tool across the catalogue, and the policy pattern that contains them.
The MCP Attack Database → Documented attack patterns against MCP deployments — and the policies that stop them.
Blast radius → How much damage one compromised or confused agent can do — and how to bound it.
Tool call approval → Approval gates on individual tool calls: auto-allow, prompt, or deny.
Rate Limiting MCP Tool Calls: A Practical Guide →
MCP Security: Why Prompt Guardrails Aren't Enough →

FAQ

Questions about terminate_process

What does the terminate_process tool do? +

Terminate a process session. Use force=true for SIGKILL instead of graceful SIGTERM. It is categorised as a Destructive tool in the OODA Computer Control MCP Server, which means it can permanently delete or destroy data. Block by default and require explicit approval.

How do I enforce a policy on terminate_process? +

Register the OODA Computer Control MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for terminate_process: 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 OODA Computer Control. Nothing to install.

What risk level is terminate_process? +

terminate_process is a Destructive tool with critical risk. Critical-risk tools should be blocked by default and only enabled with explicit human approval.

Can I rate-limit terminate_process? +

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

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

terminate_process is provided by the OODA Computer Control MCP server (mnehmos/mnehmos.ooda.mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.

Enforce policy on every OODA Computer Control tool call.

Start from OODA Computer Control, add the rest of your stack, and see everything your agents can call. Then put policy on all of it.

CHECK YOUR STACK →