search_issues

THE RISK

Low Risk

Why search_issues needs a policy

This is a read-only operation that searches and retrieves issue and pull request data. It has no side effects, does not execute code, does not modify data, and does not delete anything. The blast radius of misuse is minimal—an agent could retrieve sensitive issue titles or comments, but cannot cause damage through this tool alone.

From the tool's definition Tool name 'search_issues' and description 'Search for issues and pull requests across GitHub repositories' indicate a query operation that retrieves data without modifying or deleting anything.

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

POLICY

How to control search_issues

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 search_issues:

policy.json

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

search_issues 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

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All 59 MCP-Brave-Search tools →

Read tools on other servers

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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 search_issues

What does the search_issues tool do? +

Search for issues and pull requests across GitHub repositories. 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 search_issues? +

Register the MCP-Brave-Search MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for search_issues: 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 search_issues? +

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

Can I rate-limit search_issues? +

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

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

search_issues 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 →