List protected branches for a project, with their push/merge/unprotect access levels.
AI agents call list_protected_branches to retrieve information from Mcp Gitlab without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
This tool retrieves and displays information about protected branch configurations in GitLab. It has no side effects—it does not create, modify, delete, or execute any changes. The scope is limited to querying metadata about existing branch protection rules, making it a straightforward Read operation with low risk of misuse.
From the tool's definition Tool name 'list_protected_branches' and description 'List protected branches for a project' indicate a retrieval operation.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
List protected branches for a project, with their push/merge/unprotect access levels. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Mcp Gitlab MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the Mcp Gitlab MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for list_protected_branches: 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 Mcp Gitlab. Nothing to install.
list_protected_branches 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 list_protected_branches 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 list_protected_branches. 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.
list_protected_branches is provided by the Mcp Gitlab MCP server (wanadev/gitlab-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
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