AI agents call search_skills to retrieve information from Skill Cortex Lite without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
The tool appears to retrieve or query available skills from the skill library based on search criteria. Despite the missing description, the name and context within a skill management system indicate this is a read-only discovery operation.
From the tool's definition Tool name 'search_skills' combined with server context showing skill discovery and search capabilities. No description provided, but 'search' strongly implies query/retrieval operation with no side effects.
Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access search_skills gives an agent:
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and Skill Cortex Lite, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for search_skills:
{
"version": "1",
"default": "deny",
"tools": {
"search_skills": {}
}
}search_skills is read-only, so it stays allowed — but everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
Free to start. No card required.
search_skills. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Skill Cortex Lite MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the Skill Cortex Lite MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for search_skills: 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 Skill Cortex Lite. Nothing to install.
search_skills 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 search_skills 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 search_skills. 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.
search_skills is provided by the Skill Cortex Lite MCP server (sim-xia/skill-cortex-server). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Start from Skill Cortex Lite, add the rest of your stack, and see everything your agents can call. Then put policy on all of it.
Free to start. No card required.
6 Skill Cortex Lite tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 43,000+ MCP servers.