List and filter issues in a GitHub repository. Supports filtering by state, labels, assignee, creator, milestone, and date. Returns paginated results.
AI agents call list_issues to retrieve information from Mcp Github without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
This tool retrieves existing GitHub issues with various filter parameters (state, labels, assignee, etc.) and returns results. It performs no create, update, delete, or execute operations. Listing and filtering are read-only operations with no side effects. Severity is low because information disclosure about issues is low-risk compared to data modification or code execution.
From the tool's definition Tool name is 'list_issues' and description states it 'List and filter issues in a GitHub repository' and 'Returns paginated results' — purely retrieving and querying data with no modifications or side effects.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
List and filter issues in a GitHub repository. Supports filtering by state, labels, assignee, creator, milestone, and date. Returns paginated results. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Mcp Github MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the Mcp Github MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for list_issues: 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 Github. Nothing to install.
list_issues 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 list_issues 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 list_issues. 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.
list_issues is provided by the Mcp Github MCP server (sheeryn123/mcp-github-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.
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