brave_local_search

THE RISK

Low Risk

Why brave_local_search needs a policy

This tool performs a search query to retrieve information about local businesses and places. Search operations are read-only with no side effects, destructive capability, or financial impact. The low severity reflects minimal risk even if misused by an agent, as it only retrieves publicly available information.

From the tool's definition Tool name 'brave_local_search' and description 'Searches for local businesses and places using Brave' indicate a search/query operation that retrieves information without modifying state.

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

POLICY

How to control brave_local_search

PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and MCP-Brave-Search, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for brave_local_search:

policy.json

{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "brave_local_search": {}
  }
}

brave_local_search is read-only, so it stays allowed — but everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.

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

CAP THIS TOOL →

Free to start. No card required.

EXPLORE

Related tools and policies

More MCP-Brave-Search tools

Destructive delete Delete one or more keys from Redis Execute puppeteer_evaluate Execute JavaScript in the browser console Execute puppeteer_navigate Navigate to a URL Execute puppeteer_hover Hover an element on the page Execute generate_image Generate images using EverArt Models and returns a clickable link to view the generated im Execute puppeteer_click Click an element on the page Execute puppeteer_fill Fill out an input field Execute puppeteer_select Select an element on the page with Select tag

All 59 MCP-Brave-Search tools →

Read tools on other servers

M-Team MCP Server get_torrent_detail YouTube MCP Server search_channel Android Forensics ADB MCP Server parse_browser_history 0xarchive web3_challenge

Go deeper

The MCP Attack Database → Documented attack patterns against MCP deployments — and the policies that stop them.
Data exfiltration → How read access becomes an exfiltration channel when chained with untrusted content.
MCP token cost → What connecting this server costs in context-window tokens on every request.
Rate Limiting MCP Tool Calls: A Practical Guide →
MCP Security: Why Prompt Guardrails Aren't Enough →

FAQ

Questions about brave_local_search

What does the brave_local_search tool do? +

Searches for local businesses and places using Brave. It is categorised as a Read tool in the MCP-Brave-Search MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.

How do I enforce a policy on brave_local_search? +

Register the MCP-Brave-Search MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for brave_local_search: 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-Brave-Search. Nothing to install.

What risk level is brave_local_search? +

brave_local_search is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.

Can I rate-limit brave_local_search? +

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

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

brave_local_search is provided by the MCP-Brave-Search MCP server (modelcontextprotocol/servers-archived). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.

Enforce policy on every MCP-Brave-Search tool call.

Start from MCP-Brave-Search, add the rest of your stack, and see everything your agents can call. Then put policy on all of it.

CHECK YOUR STACK →