AI agents call get_trace to retrieve information from Storage without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
The tool retrieves observability/diagnostic data (distributed traces) from Google Cloud Trace. This is a query operation with no capacity to modify, delete, execute, or incur financial consequences. The blast radius of misuse is minimal — an attacker gains visibility into application request paths but cannot alter system state or data.
From the tool's definition Tool description states 'retrieve a single distributed trace' — a read-only operation that queries and returns trace data without modification or side effects.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
Use this as the primary tool to retrieve a single distributed trace from Google Cloud Trace. Traces provide a detailed view of the path of a request as it travels through your application. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Storage MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the Storage MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for get_trace: 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 Storage. Nothing to install.
get_trace 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 get_trace 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 get_trace. 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.
get_trace is provided by the Storage MCP server (@google-cloud/storage-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.