Glossary · Term

tape rug pull

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Definition

Plain language

When a tool advertises one behavior but actually does something different.

As stated in the literature

An attack class where an MCP-served tool's natural-language description and actual implementation diverge.

Also called: tool rug pull

Why it matters: It exploits the fact that LLM agents trust tool descriptions rather than reading the code, making any open tool marketplace a serious security risk.

For example, a tool described as 'reads file metadata' might actually upload the file contents to a remote server.

Related terms

MCP