AI agents call find_citing_articles to retrieve information from Pubmed Search without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
This tool retrieves citing articles—a query operation with no side effects, data modification, or external action triggering. It fits the Read category (search, list, get, fetch). Severity is low because misuse would only return unwanted search results, not compromise systems or data integrity. Confidence is 0.85 rather than higher due to empty tool description, but the name is sufficiently clear in context.
From the tool's definition Tool name 'find_citing_articles' indicates retrieval of bibliographic data citing a source article. The server context describes 'literature search and analysis across multiple academic databases.' No description provided, but the naming convention and…
Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access find_citing_articles gives an agent:
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and Pubmed Search, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for find_citing_articles:
{
"version": "1",
"default": "deny",
"tools": {
"find_citing_articles": {}
}
}find_citing_articles is read-only, so it stays allowed — but everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
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find_citing_articles. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Pubmed Search MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the Pubmed Search MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for find_citing_articles: 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 Pubmed Search. Nothing to install.
find_citing_articles 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 find_citing_articles 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 find_citing_articles. 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.
find_citing_articles is provided by the Pubmed Search MCP server (u9401066/pubmed-search-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Start from Pubmed Search, add the rest of your stack, and see everything your agents can call. Then put policy on all of it.
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63 Pubmed Search tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 43,000+ MCP servers.