create_catalog_category

THE RISK

Medium Risk

Why create_catalog_category needs a policy

This tool creates new data (a catalog category) within ServiceNow's Service Catalog, which is a Write operation. While creation is reversible (categories can be deleted), misconfiguration could disrupt service catalog organization and affect end-user self-service capabilities.

From the tool's definition Tool name is 'create_catalog_category' and description states it 'Creates a new category within a specified Service Catalog', indicating irreversible data creation in a business-critical service catalog system.

Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access create_catalog_category gives an agent:

POLICY

How to control create_catalog_category

PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and Snow, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for create_catalog_category:

policy.json

{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "create_catalog_category": {
      "limits": [
        {
          "counter": "create_catalog_category_rate",
          "window": "minute",
          "max": 30,
          "scope": "grant"
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

create_catalog_category stays usable, but capped — an agent stuck in a loop can't make hundreds of changes a minute. Everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.

Create a free account and register Snow — nothing to install.
Add this policy — paste it, or build it visually.
Point your MCP client (Claude, Cursor, anything) at your gateway URL.

LIMIT THIS TOOL →

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EXPLORE

Related tools and policies

More Snow tools

Destructive delete_script_include Delete a Script Include from ServiceNow. Destructive delete_story_dependency Deletes an existing dependency relationship between user stories. Destructive delete_workflow Delete a workflow definition from ServiceNow. Destructive remove_group_members Remove multiple users from a group. Execute publish_changeset Publish a completed changeset so it can be retrieved from the remote instance. Write add_change_task Adds a new task to an existing change request. Write add_comment_to_incident Adds a customer-visible comment (updates the 'comments' field) to an existing incident. Write add_comment_to_request Adds a customer-visible comment to a request ticket (REQ).

All 88 Snow tools →

Write tools on other servers

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Go deeper

The MCP Attack Database → Documented attack patterns against MCP deployments — and the policies that stop them.
Argument validation → Checking tool call arguments against schema and policy before they run.
Scoped token → Per-person credentials that grant a defined subset of servers and tools.
Rate Limiting MCP Tool Calls: A Practical Guide →
MCP Security: Why Prompt Guardrails Aren't Enough →

FAQ

Questions about create_catalog_category

What does the create_catalog_category tool do? +

Creates a new category within a specified Service Catalog. It is categorised as a Write tool in the Snow MCP Server, which means it can create or modify data. Consider rate limits to prevent runaway writes.

How do I enforce a policy on create_catalog_category? +

Register the Snow MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for create_catalog_category: 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 Snow. Nothing to install.

What risk level is create_catalog_category? +

create_catalog_category is a Write tool with medium risk. Write tools should be rate-limited to prevent accidental bulk modifications.

Can I rate-limit create_catalog_category? +

Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the create_catalog_category 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.

How do I block create_catalog_category completely? +

Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for create_catalog_category. 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.

What MCP server provides create_catalog_category? +

create_catalog_category is provided by the Snow MCP server (shunyaai/snow-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.

Enforce policy on every Snow tool call.

Start from Snow, add the rest of your stack, and see everything your agents can call. Then put policy on all of it.

CHECK YOUR STACK →