List all background tasks and their status.
AI agents call ssh_list_background to retrieve information from MCP Remote Access 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 operation to enumerate and display the status of background tasks on a remote system. It has no side effects, does not execute arbitrary commands, and does not modify any state.
From the tool's definition Tool name 'ssh_list_background' and description 'List all background tasks and their status' indicate a query operation that retrieves information about running processes without modifying or executing them.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
List all background tasks and their status. It is categorised as a Read tool in the MCP Remote Access MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the MCP Remote Access MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for ssh_list_background: 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 Remote Access. Nothing to install.
ssh_list_background 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 ssh_list_background 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 ssh_list_background. 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.
ssh_list_background is provided by the MCP Remote Access MCP server (rfingadam/mcp-remote-access). 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.
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