pentest_application · MCP Shamash MCP: Risk & Policy

WHAT IT DOES

What pentest_application does on MCP Shamash

AI agents invoke pentest_application to trigger actions in MCP Shamash. What it does depends on the arguments the agent supplies, and its effects often reach beyond the immediate call — builds kicked off, notifications sent, workflows started.

WHY IT NEEDS A POLICY

Why pentest_application needs a policy

Penetration testing involves actively probing, exploiting, and attacking deployed applications. This triggers external operations (network requests, exploit attempts, fuzzing, injection attacks) against real systems. Misuse could cause outages, data corruption, or unauthorized access on production systems, making it critical severity.

From the tool's definition 'Performs penetration testing on deployed applications' — actively executes attack simulations against live systems

Attacks that exploit this kind of access

Recommended rule Ready

Verdict

pentest_application Rate-limited

pentest_application stays usable, but rate-capped — a runaway agent can't fire it dozens of times a minute. Everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.

View as policy code

policy.json

{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "pentest_application": {
      "limits": [
        {
          "counter": "pentest_application_rate",
          "window": "minute",
          "max": 10,
          "scope": "grant"
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

RATE-LIMIT THIS TOOL →

Instant setup, no code required.

PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: every tool call is checked against your rule before it reaches MCP Shamash, so you can run agents against it safely.

FAQ

Questions about pentest_application

What does the pentest_application tool do? +

Performs penetration testing on deployed applications. It is categorised as a Execute tool in the MCP Shamash MCP Server, which means it can trigger actions or run processes. Use rate limits and argument validation.

How do I enforce a policy on pentest_application? +

Register the MCP Shamash MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for pentest_application: 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 Shamash. Nothing to install.

What risk level is pentest_application? +

pentest_application is a Execute tool with high risk. Execute tools should be rate-limited and have argument validation enabled.

Can I rate-limit pentest_application? +

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

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

pentest_application is provided by the MCP Shamash MCP server (neotecdigital/mcp_shamash). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.