AI agents call paper_references to retrieve information from Mcp Scholar without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
The tool fetches bibliographic data about papers that reference a given paper. This is purely informational retrieval, with no capability to modify, delete, execute code, or perform financial operations. The blast radius of misuse is minimal—an agent could only retrieve existing scholarly metadata.
From the tool's definition Tool description states it retrieves ('获取') a list of references ('引用指定论文的文献列表') that cite a specified paper. This is a query operation with no side effects.
Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access paper_references gives an agent:
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and Mcp Scholar, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for paper_references:
{
"version": "1",
"default": "deny",
"tools": {
"paper_references": {}
}
}paper_references is read-only, so it stays allowed — but everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
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获取引用指定论文的文献列表. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Mcp Scholar MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the Mcp Scholar MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for paper_references: 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 Scholar. Nothing to install.
paper_references 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 paper_references 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 paper_references. 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.
paper_references is provided by the Mcp Scholar MCP server (renyumeng1/mcp_scholar). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Deterministic rules across all 7 Mcp Scholar tools. Per-identity grants. Full audit log. Live in minutes. Nothing to install.
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7 Mcp Scholar tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 42,500+ MCP servers.