Retrieve Ask HN posts (questions to the HN community), sorted by date descending.
AI agents call get_ask_hn to retrieve information from HackerNews MCP Server without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
This tool queries and retrieves publicly available Hacker News content without any ability to modify, delete, or execute operations. It is a simple read operation with no side effects or destructive potential. Low severity due to minimal blast radius—misuse would only result in retrieving already-public information.
From the tool's definition Tool retrieves Ask HN posts sorted by date; no modification, deletion, or execution capabilities. Description indicates data retrieval only: 'Retrieve Ask HN posts'.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
Retrieve Ask HN posts (questions to the HN community), sorted by date descending. It is categorised as a Read tool in the HackerNews MCP Server MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the HackerNews MCP Server MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for get_ask_hn: 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 HackerNews MCP Server. Nothing to install.
get_ask_hn 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 get_ask_hn 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 get_ask_hn. 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.
get_ask_hn is provided by the HackerNews MCP Server MCP server (sam3690/hackernews_mcp). 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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