Medium Risk

certificate_create

Create a new certificate. Supports internal (self-signed), CSR, imported, and ACME certificate types. Only name and create_type are required; other fields depend on the create_type.

How to control certificate_create ↓

What certificate_create does on Truenas

AI agents use certificate_create to create or update resources in Truenas — usually the action step of a workflow, after the agent has gathered context. Every call changes real data in your Truenas environment.

Medium Risk

Why certificate_create needs a policy

This is fundamentally a Write operation—it creates and persists a new certificate object in TrueNAS with no permanent destructive capability. While certificates are security-sensitive, the tool itself is reversible (certificates can typically be deleted/replaced), and the operation doesn't execute arbitrary code, destroy existing data, or move money.

From the tool's definition Tool description states it will 'Create a new certificate', indicating a write operation that creates a new configuration artifact in the system.

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

How to control certificate_create

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

policy.json
{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "certificate_create": {
      "limits": [
        {
          "counter": "certificate_create_rate",
          "window": "minute",
          "max": 30,
          "scope": "grant"
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

certificate_create 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.

  1. Create a free account and register Truenas — nothing to install.
  2. Add this policy — paste it, or build it visually.
  3. Point your MCP client (Claude, Cursor, anything) at your gateway URL.
LIMIT THIS TOOL →

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Related tools and policies

Go deeper

Questions about certificate_create

What does the certificate_create tool do? +

Create a new certificate. Supports internal (self-signed), CSR, imported, and ACME certificate types. Only name and create_type are required; other fields depend on the create_type. It is categorised as a Write tool in the Truenas MCP Server, which means it can create or modify data. Consider rate limits to prevent runaway writes.

How do I enforce a policy on certificate_create? +

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

What risk level is certificate_create? +

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

Can I rate-limit certificate_create? +

Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the certificate_create 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 certificate_create completely? +

Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for certificate_create. 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 certificate_create? +

certificate_create is provided by the Truenas MCP server (spranab/truenas-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.

Enforce policy on every Truenas tool call.

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

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279 Truenas tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 43,000+ MCP servers.

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