Shadow MCP sprawl expands your surface silently
Developers connect MCP servers without a security review. Each one expands your attack surface with tools that reach databases, APIs, and file systems.
By risk
Every MCP server is a new trust boundary.
The Model Context Protocol has no built-in authentication, monitoring, or injection protection. Each server your agents connect to needs its own risk score, its own policy, and its own place in the audit trail.
Why it matters
MCP was built for functionality, not security
Tool poisoning hides in plain sight
MCP servers can carry hidden instructions in tool descriptions and responses-attackers manipulate agent behavior through a server the agent already trusts.
Compliance now covers agent connections too
NIST AI RMF and the EU AI Act increasingly require governance over what AI agents connect to, not just what models they use.
What Lineation does
Discovery, scoring, and enforcement for every tool call
MCP server discovery & inventory
Every MCP server connected across your agents is discovered and cataloged automatically, sanctioned or not.
Risk scoring per server
Each server is scored on its permissions, actions, and description content, flagging what needs review.
Tool description & response inspection
Requests and responses are scanned for hidden instructions before an agent's decision layer ever sees them.
Enforcement at the point of the call
Which agents may call which tools is defined by policy and enforced before the call executes.
How it works
Five steps to governed MCP connections
Discover every server
Connected MCP servers across every agent are inventoried automatically.
Score each server
Permissions, actions, and description content feed a risk score for every connection.
Inspect requests & responses
Every call and response is checked for hidden instructions before it reaches the agent.
Enforce role-based policy
Which agents may call which tools is defined explicitly, not assumed by default.
Log with full lineage
Every tool call traces back to the prompt that triggered it.
FAQ
Common questions
What makes MCP different from a normal API integration?
An agent decides dynamically which tools to call and how to interpret responses, so the trust boundary moves with every tool description and response, unlike a static integration.
Is MCP secure by default?
No. The protocol has no built-in authentication, monitoring, or injection protection unless a governance layer sits in front of it.
How do you detect tool poisoning in a server's description?
Tool descriptions and responses are scanned for hidden or injected instructions before an agent reads them.
Can we block a specific MCP server org-wide?
Yes-a server that triggers a high risk score can be managed or blocked instantly, org-wide or scoped.
Does this cover custom, self-hosted MCP servers?
Yes, discovery and policy apply to any MCP server an agent connects to, not just a curated known list.
How is this different from prompt injection protection?
MCP security governs the connection-which servers exist and what they may do. Prompt injection protection governs the content flowing through any channel, including MCP.
Know every MCP server your agents can reach.
Discovery is free to start. See your MCP surface before you decide what to lock down.