Bulk scan application dependencies for known CVEs via OSV.dev. Supports requirements.txt (PyPI), package.json (npm), pom.xml (Maven), or generic 'name:ecosystem:version' lines. Returns only vulnerable packages. Args: dependency_list: Raw contents of requirements.txt, package.json, pom.xml, or new...
AI agents call scan_dependencies to retrieve information from CVE MCP Server without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
scan_dependencies performs a read-only lookup of known CVEs for provided package dependencies. It queries a vulnerability database (OSV.dev) and returns matching records. The input (dependency lists) is not modified, no code is executed, and no data is created, deleted, or overwritten. This is fundamentally a retrieval/intelligence-gathering operation, fitting the Read category.
From the tool's definition Tool description states it 'scan[s]' and 'returns only vulnerable packages' — a query operation against OSV.dev that retrieves vulnerability data without modifying, executing, or deleting anything. No side effects.
Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access scan_dependencies gives an agent:
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and CVE MCP Server, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for scan_dependencies:
{
"version": "1",
"default": "deny",
"tools": {
"scan_dependencies": {}
}
}scan_dependencies is read-only, so it stays allowed — but everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
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Bulk scan application dependencies for known CVEs via OSV.dev. Supports requirements.txt (PyPI), package.json (npm), pom.xml (Maven), or generic 'name:ecosystem:version' lines. Returns only vulnerable packages. Args: dependency_list: Raw contents of requirements.txt, package.json, pom.xml, or newline-separated 'name:ecosystem:version' entries. Max 1000 packages per call. It is categorised as a Read tool in the CVE MCP Server MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the CVE MCP Server MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for scan_dependencies: 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 CVE MCP Server. Nothing to install.
scan_dependencies 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 scan_dependencies 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 scan_dependencies. 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.
scan_dependencies is provided by the CVE MCP Server MCP server (mukul975/cve-mcp-server). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Start from CVE MCP Server, add the rest of your stack, and see everything your agents can call. Then put policy on all of it.
Free to start. No card required.
27 CVE MCP Server tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 43,000+ MCP servers.