List recent email headers (no body). Returns newest first. Use this first to get IDs for getEmailsById/deleteEmailsById.
AI agents call pollEmails to retrieve information from MCP Email Server without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
pollEmails is a read-only operation that retrieves email metadata (headers only, no body content) from the server. It has no side effects—it neither modifies, creates, deletes, nor executes operations. While email data can be sensitive, the tool itself poses minimal risk as it only queries and lists existing information.
From the tool's definition Tool description states it 'List recent email headers (no body)' and is intended to be used to 'get IDs for getEmailsById/deleteEmailsById', indicating it retrieves data without modifying or deleting anything.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
List recent email headers (no body). Returns newest first. Use this first to get IDs for getEmailsById/deleteEmailsById. It is categorised as a Read tool in the MCP Email Server MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the MCP Email Server MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for pollEmails: 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 Email Server. Nothing to install.
pollEmails 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 pollEmails 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 pollEmails. 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.
pollEmails is provided by the MCP Email Server MCP server (ptbsare/email-mcp-server). 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 →