Get pending approvals for current user with ENRICHED details from parent records. Returns number, short_description, opened_by, urgency, and stage - not just approval metadata. Supports keyword filtering.
AI agents call approvals_pending to retrieve information from ServiceNow MCP Server without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
This tool retrieves and queries approval records for the current user with enriched parent record details. It supports filtering but does not create, modify, delete, or execute any operations. The data returned is metadata about existing approvals without side effects, making it a Read category tool with low severity since it only exposes information the user is already authorized to view.
From the tool's definition Tool description states 'Get pending approvals for current user' with 'Returns number, short_description, opened_by, urgency, and stage' - these are retrieval operations with no modification or deletion capability.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
Get pending approvals for current user with ENRICHED details from parent records. Returns number, short_description, opened_by, urgency, and stage - not just approval metadata. Supports keyword filtering. It is categorised as a Read tool in the ServiceNow MCP Server MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the ServiceNow MCP Server MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for approvals_pending: 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 ServiceNow MCP Server. Nothing to install.
approvals_pending 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 approvals_pending 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 approvals_pending. 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.
approvals_pending is provided by the ServiceNow MCP Server MCP server (schwarztim/servicenow-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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