AI agents call search_todos to retrieve information from Notion API MCP Server without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
This tool performs a search operation with filtering on todo items, which is fundamentally a read operation that retrieves data without side effects. No data is created, modified, deleted, or executed; it only queries and returns results. The severity is low because misuse would at worst return unintended search results, with no destructive or financial impact.
From the tool's definition Tool name 'search_todos' and description 'Search todos with advanced filtering' indicate querying/retrieval of existing data with no modification or deletion.
Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access search_todos gives an agent:
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and Notion API MCP Server, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for search_todos:
{
"version": "1",
"default": "deny",
"tools": {
"search_todos": {}
}
}search_todos is read-only, so it stays allowed — but everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
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Search todos with advanced filtering. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Notion API MCP Server MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the Notion API MCP Server MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for search_todos: 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 Notion API MCP Server. Nothing to install.
search_todos 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 search_todos 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 search_todos. 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.
search_todos is provided by the Notion API MCP Server MCP server (pbohannon/notion-api-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Start from Notion API MCP Server, add the rest of your stack, and see everything your agents can call. Then put policy on all of it.
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17 Notion API MCP Server tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 43,000+ MCP servers.