Read the full content + frontmatter of a note by its vault-relative path.
AI agents call read_note to retrieve information from Vault Memory without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
This tool retrieves data (note content and metadata) without side effects. It is a straightforward read operation that queries existing knowledge stored in Obsidian notes. No creation, modification, deletion, or execution occurs. Severity is low because reading notes poses minimal risk unless the notes themselves contain sensitive data, but that is a data sensitivity issue rather than a tool capability issue.
From the tool's definition Tool name 'read_note' and description 'Read the full content + frontmatter of a note by its vault-relative path' explicitly indicate retrieval without modification.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
Read the full content + frontmatter of a note by its vault-relative path. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Vault Memory MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the Vault Memory MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for read_note: 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 Vault Memory. Nothing to install.
read_note 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 read_note 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 read_note. 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.
read_note is provided by the Vault Memory MCP server (owrede/vault-memory). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Every MCP server has a record like this.
Type a name, get the same breakdown: verified identity, auth posture, risk grade, capabilities, recommended policy.
Teams ship this data inside their own products. See what a licence covers →