crowbar_attack · Kali MCP: Risk & Policy

WHAT IT DOES

What crowbar_attack does on Kali

AI agents invoke crowbar_attack to trigger actions in Kali. 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 crowbar_attack needs a policy

Crowbar is a brute-force attack tool used to perform credential attacks against services like SSH, RDP, VNC, and OpenVPN. Even with an empty description, the tool name combined with the server context (Kali Linux pentest server, siblings include beef_exploit and password attack tools) strongly indicates this executes active credential brute-force attacks against target systems.

From the tool's definition Tool name 'crowbar_attack' on a Kali Linux penetration testing server with siblings including beef_exploit, aircrack_scan, and password attack tools. 'crowbar' is a well-known brute-force/credential attack tool.

Attacks that exploit this kind of access

Recommended rule Ready

Verdict

crowbar_attack Rate-limited

crowbar_attack 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": {
    "crowbar_attack": {
      "limits": [
        {
          "counter": "crowbar_attack_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 Kali, so you can run agents against it safely.

FAQ

Questions about crowbar_attack

What does the crowbar_attack tool do? +

crowbar_attack. It is categorised as a Execute tool in the Kali MCP Server, which means it can trigger actions or run processes. Use rate limits and argument validation.

How do I enforce a policy on crowbar_attack? +

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

What risk level is crowbar_attack? +

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

Can I rate-limit crowbar_attack? +

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

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

crowbar_attack is provided by the Kali MCP server (pentestt00ls/kali-mcp-server). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.