Search for emails using various criteria. Searches across ALL folders (inbox, archive, sent, etc.) by default. Specify folder to limit scope.
AI agents call search-emails to retrieve information from Outlook Assistant without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
This tool retrieves and queries email data without side effects. While it accesses potentially sensitive personal information (email contents across all folders including archive and sent items), the operation is read-only.
From the tool's definition Tool name 'search-emails' and description states it 'Search[es] for emails' which is a query operation. Description explicitly indicates retrieval capability ('Searches across ALL folders') with no mention of modification, deletion, or execution.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
Search for emails using various criteria. Searches across ALL folders (inbox, archive, sent, etc.) by default. Specify folder to limit scope. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Outlook Assistant MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the Outlook Assistant MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for search-emails: 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 Outlook Assistant. Nothing to install.
search-emails 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-emails 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-emails. 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-emails is provided by the Outlook Assistant MCP server (titanzero/outlook-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Every MCP server has a record like this.
Type a name, get the same breakdown: verified identity, auth posture, risk grade, capabilities, recommended policy.
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