AI agents call whats_changed to retrieve information from Srclight without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
This tool retrieves information about uncommitted changes in the codebase—a read-only operation that queries the working directory status. It has no side effects, does not execute code, and does not modify data. The blast radius of misuse is minimal; an AI agent querying this information cannot cause damage. Severity is low because the worst outcome is observing unintended code changes, which is informational only.
From the tool's definition Tool name 'whats_changed' and description 'Show uncommitted changes (work in progress)' indicate a query operation that retrieves and displays file modifications without altering state.
Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access whats_changed gives an agent:
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and Srclight, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for whats_changed:
{
"version": "1",
"default": "deny",
"tools": {
"whats_changed": {}
}
}whats_changed is read-only, so it stays allowed — but everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
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Show uncommitted changes (work in progress). It is categorised as a Read tool in the Srclight MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the Srclight MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for whats_changed: 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 Srclight. Nothing to install.
whats_changed 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 whats_changed 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 whats_changed. 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.
whats_changed is provided by the Srclight MCP server (srclight/srclight). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Deterministic rules across all 42 Srclight tools. Per-identity grants. Full audit log. Live in minutes. Nothing to install.
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42 Srclight tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 42,500+ MCP servers.