AI agents call search_users to retrieve information from GitHub MCP Server Plus without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
This tool performs a read-only search query against GitHub's user database. It retrieves data (matching user profiles) with no side effects, modifications, or state changes. This is a standard Read category operation. Severity is low because the blast radius of misuse is minimal—at worst, an agent could enumerate user accounts, which is already public information on GitHub.
From the tool's definition The tool name is 'search_users' and the description states it 'Search for users on GitHub', which is a query operation that retrieves publicly available user information without modifying, executing, or deleting anything.
Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access search_users gives an agent:
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and GitHub MCP Server Plus, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for search_users:
{
"version": "1",
"default": "deny",
"tools": {
"search_users": {}
}
}search_users is read-only, so it stays allowed — but everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
Free to start. No card required.
Search for users on GitHub. It is categorised as a Read tool in the GitHub MCP Server Plus MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the GitHub MCP Server Plus MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for search_users: 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 GitHub MCP Server Plus. Nothing to install.
search_users 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_users 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_users. 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_users is provided by the GitHub MCP Server Plus MCP server (phialsbasement/mcp-github-server-plus). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Start from GitHub MCP Server Plus, 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.
18 GitHub MCP Server Plus tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 43,000+ MCP servers.